Vignettes, Snippets, Drabbles, etc
by Betrayed Dreams
Summary: It takes one bad turn on the path of 'lonerhood' for everything to go wrong. (Complete)
1. Scene 1 Number

Don't Own Oregairu

Scene #1: Number

Pairing: Hikio/Miura

Genre: Friendship/Romance

Word count: 342

/

"Give me your number, Hikio."

"Huh?" Hikigaya Hachiman was looking at Miura Yumiko like she had suddenly sprouted another head on her shoulder.

He must have heard wrong because there was no way, Miura Yumiko, was asking for his number while they were amidst everyone, with normal students, in their bustling classroom.

"...what did you say?" He asked stupidly.

"Don't play dumb Hikio, I asked for your number. Now are you going to give it to me when I am asking nicely or do I have to resort to other more unpleasant means?" She asked firmly.

Hikigaya Hachiman took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Why do you want my number?" He asked curiously.

Miura blushed for a second before replying, "So I can talk to you privately, you know? Like normal friends do? Instead of stealing phones of other people to look up your contact info." Miura gave a small apologetic look to Yuigahama who waved it off with an easy smile.

"Wait a second Miura," Hikigaya said. "Are we friends?"

Miura gave him a sour look. "Well, duh! Get a clue Hikio."

Hikigaya Hachiman looked at her for a moment before shaking his head and getting up to leave the classroom.

Miura looked at him worriedly. "Hey! Where are you going Hikio?" She asked.

"To the infirmary," he replied in monotone.

Miura looked confused. "Why? Are you feeling sick?" She asked, worried.

Hikigaya shook his head. "Not right now"

Miura crossed her arms and tilted her head sideways in curiosity. "Then why?"

"Because I must have done something to piss Yukinoshita off somehow," he replied tersely, "and she probably slipped a hallucinogen into my cup of tea. I want to know whether there are any lasting effects. Now if you will, please excuse me. I have to leave."

And without saying anything else Hikigaya Hachiman hurriedly went down the corridor and presumably into the infirmary.

Miura stared at him for a moment before finally finding the proper words to address this situation. "He makes no sense!" She pouted.

A/N:I have my exams soon, so I can't update my old fics because they take way too much time and I have to study, like a lot. Originally I wanted to go on a hiatus but then I thought otherwise and voila! The idea of this fic was born.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams


	2. Scene 2 Thanks

Don't own Oregairu

Scene #2: Thanks

Pairing: Zaimokuza/Yukinoshita

Genre: Friendship/Romance

Word count: 519

"There is room for improvement, Zaimokuza-san."

"A-ah yes, th-thank you m'lady."

Zaimokuza Yoshiteru leaned forward, extending his arms and gently grasped his latest new draft from Yukinoshita Yukino.

He was quite apprehensive of showing his work to only her without the presence of his long time comrade Sir Hikigaya Hachiman but due to some unfortunate circumstances he had barricaded himself in the school infirmary spouting illusions, witchcraft, ill omens and sorcery.

Zaimokuza made a solemn vow to embark on a fresh new crusade to save his fellow comrade's soul from these treacherous waters after leaving the forbidden fortress of Queen Yukinoshita Yukino.

"Wi-ill t-that be all m'lady?" He asked reverently.

"Yes, yes, Zaimokuza-san, that will be all," Yukinoshita flicked a strand of her hair over her shoulder before airing her curiosity. "Just one thing, Zaimokuza-san."

"Yes, m'lady?" He said, looking at her.

Yukinoshita evaded his gaze, "It's just that, your latest draft was quite unusual in comparison to most of your nonsensical rubbish."

Zaimokuza winced. "Was it that bad?"

Yukinoshita scowled, "Haven't you been paying attention to a single word I have been saying Zaimokuza-san? I just mentioned earlier that this draft was much better than your previous version. It's just that..." Her voice trailed off.

"You can speak your mind before me, m'lady," Zaimokuza encouraged her. "I assure you I would take your words to heart without being the least offended by them."

Yukinoshita blushed upon hearing his statement and lowered her eyes to stare at her feet. "It's just that," she began again, pondering her words. "What's the word that rotten man said, hmm..." Zaimokuza wondered whether she was thinking about his comrade Sir Hachiman. "Yes, I remember now, but I don't know if I should say this, Zaimokuza-san."Queen Yukinoshita blushed a little more.

"Please speak freely!" Zaimokuza declared, "You have my word. I will not judge."

Yukinoshita took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "It's just that your latest draft was completely devoid of lascivious material, the likes of what Hikigaya-kun refers to as 'fan-service'."

Zaimokuza Yoshiteru rubbed a spot on his cheek with one of his fingers and gave an embarrassed chuckle. "Well you see m'lady, I have taken your previous directive into full account while writing up this new draft," with slightly flushed features he added, "I also thought it was very disrespectful of a noble man to force a fair maiden to read such lustful litanies."

"Oh!" Yukinoshita exclaimed, blushing deeper. "That seemed oddly chivalrous of you, Zaimokuza-san"

Zaimokuza grinned broadly, "Of course, m'lady! I am a Holy Knight after all!"

Yukinoshita shook her head, "Yes, forgive me for forgetting that particular piece of trivia. You may leave now Zaimokuza-san."

Zaimokuza grabbed his belongings, gave her a two fingered salute goodbye and said, "'til we meet again, my fair lady."

And then he turned around and left, missing the blushing cheeks of one Yukinoshita Yukino.

"He must be suffering from a severe mental condition," she said more to herself.

A/N: Well, how was it?

The very first Yuki x Zai shipping

Don't blame me now, blame my exams and my tired brain.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams


	3. Scene 3 Hurt

Don't Own Oregairu

Scene#3: Hurt

Pairing: Ebina/Hikigaya

Genre: Friendship/Romance

Word count: 904

"Aah! Hikitani-kun, why are you here?"

"Possible food poisoning, Ebina-san"

Hikigaya Hachiman wanted to leave after he discovered Ebina Hina lying beside him on another bed in the school infirmary clutching her stomach and moaning softly. For all he knew she could die any minute and if they discovered her body with him, then everyone will brand him a murderer and he will be thrown in jail before he could even plead his innocence.

"Aaa! Stop hurting me! Stop hurting me! Oh what did I ever do wrong? Bu hu! Bu hu!"

She could really die any seconds now but out of good conscience he could not leave her to suffer alone. He waited for a minute for her whimpers to die out before slowly moving closer to her and asking gently about the manner her ailment.

"Ebina-san, are you alright?" he asked stupidly.

"Do I look alright Hikitaa!" her voice erupted into a long drawn wail.

"I get the idea" he said warily, "Um, is there something I can do to help?"

"…Massage me"

Her request took him off guard and he blinked a couple of times to make sure whether he understood her correctly.

"Um, what now?"

"You heard me Hikitani-kun!"

Hikigaya Hachiman moved closer to her and inspected her lithe form which was lying prone on a bed in this infirmary. There should be a doctor present here to attend to these matters but sadly except for him there was no one here. He truly had a rotten luck.

"Are you sure?" he asked suspiciously.

"Yeah! Go ahead" she lifted her uniform and exposed her navel.

"What are you doing!" he asked in alarm.

"Lifting my shirt, Hikitani" she said tersely, "You know I have abdominal pains right?"

"Abdominal pains…" he trailed off without thinking anything much.

Ebina sighed, "Cramps Hikitani, Cramps!" she blushed, "…It's my time of the month." She said in a hushed voice.

Hikigaya Hachiman swallowed the remnants of his courage in a big gulp and nodded his head in a frigid fashion. He had a little sister and he knew what that meant but that did not mean he had to be present during this monthly cycle of suffering. He could sympathise with Ebina like he sympathised with Komachi but he could only do so much.

"Please be gentle with me" Ebina said coyly, winking over her wince.

"Don't joke Ebina." He scolded, "This is no laughing matter"

"Don't you think, I knoo…"

Her voice became a high pitch at finding a large pair of hands slowly massaging her pain away through firm yet light movements. She wiggled uneasily at his touch at first but then she relaxed visibly.

"Place your palms on both sides of my belly button, with your thumb close to the fingers, almost touching them" she ordered.

"Like this" he showed her

"Yeah" she said nodding, "And now use both your index fingers and draw a heart by first curving around the belly button, yeah!" she moaned in relief, "Like that, now stop at my belly button and then move back to the original position"

Hikigaya Hachiman blushed and asked doubtfully, "Really? A heart?'

Ebina scoffed, "Do you go through with this every month or do I? Clearly I know what I am doing Hikitani"

He looked away at her scolding but did as she said, "Ok what's next"

She looked embarrassed, "Place your hands on my back"

"Where?" he asked

"…Below my ribs" she was blushing

"…alright then, I won't touch anything inappropriate" now he was blushing.

She ignored his reassurance before continuing, "Apply some pressure and move down to the top of my hips"

"…Ok" he had nothing else to say.

"From the centre of my back, massage in circular motions and move outwards towards the outer corners of my hip. Slide your hand up and repeat this thrice. Do you understand?" she kept her voice methodical and he realised it took effort.

"…Yeah, I do, I think…Ok" he was sounding like a broken record. At least it was better than saying anything else.

"Now, position your palm on the centre of my back" she went on, "And keep sliding your fingers down until they touch my tail bone" she finished her instructions with a deep blush, "Use circular motion to massage and apply firm yet steady pressure, ok?"

"Yeah, I think I got it." he said meekly

And right afterwards his day in hell began….

"Aah!Aah! Keep doing what you are doing Hikitani" she said, "Your fingers are like magic!"

Hikigaya Hachiman wondered whether she was doing this on purpose since there was no way that she did not realise that her words of encouragement could clearly be misunderstood by anyone who happened to be passing by the infirmary and had the bad luck of overhearing them.

"Ebina keep quiet!" he hissed.

"Nooo!" she moaned, "So good~~~"

Hikigaya Hachiman withdrew instantly and darted back.

"What are you doing?" she asked mildly annoyed.

"I am bringing someone with proper medical expertise." He replied, "You need help Ebina."

Ebina gave a stiff nod, "Very well Hikitani" then she looked at him with a glare, "But if you don't come back then I will curse you and all your male family members will share my pain. All guys will experience menstrual cramps!" she declared.

Hikigaya Hachiman left the infirmary in a sprint, "The fate of the entire mankind is on my shoulders. Must not fail"

A/N:

Dont hate me! Zzz!

This bad! zzz!zzz!

Need sleep! zzz!zzz!

Will write better! zzz!zzz!

Leave lots and lots of review follow and fave zzz!zzz!

Won't betray your dreams zzz!zzz!

Have to fall asleep to dream in the first place.

P.S- The idea for this chapter was provided by the SENDER and the TRAVELLER.


	4. Scene 4 Anytime

Don't Own Oregairu

Scene#4: Anytime

Genre: Friendship/Romance

Word count: 1084

"Why did you want to meet here Sagami-san?"

"Coz here, that blonde bimbo can't bother you, Hayama-kun"

Hayama Hayato placed a small vague smile on his face to placate this situation properly while glancing across this seemingly empty rooftop for any other people who could happen to eavesdrop on their conversation. He was certain, his classmate Kawasaki Saki made it a habit of hanging around this place but for the moment it only seemed that the rooftop was being used by him and Sagami Minami to hold a private conversation. Hence he could sigh in relief and resume his nonchalant persona.

"You shouldn't say that about Miura, you know" he steched his smile, "She is not that bad"

"Yeah right!" Sagami scoffed, "She has you practically wrapped around her pinky. Wherever she is, you are there"

Mentally, Hayama gave a small chuckle. As expected what others thought about him and his clique was very different than his own perspective. Sagami was also the head of a fairly popular clique in his class but mostly because of him and Miura, they could never come into the forefront to gather more popularity. He wondered for a moment whether this meeting was about something as useless as clique popularity. Surely he had far more important things to occupy himself…like faking a smile to Tobe's dirty jokes, he thought with a sad mental grin.

"Are you not going to ask why I brought you here?" she asked.

"…should I?" he asked in return.

This rooftop help bad memories for both him and her due to a certain dead fish eyed loner. Of course Sagami had gained her place back in the committee by Hikigaya's manipulative ploy but Hayama did not like how things had turned out. He was forced to act on the whims of another individual and made to act against his will…he already had Haruno-san on his plate without Hikigaya making things worse. Surprisingly, both of them seemed very alike.

"Are you thinking that perhaps I called you here to confess to you, Hayama-kun?" Sagami asked coyly.

"…did you?" He asked apprehensively.

Sagami chuckled humourlessly, "No! God no!" She smirked, "If I wanted to confess then I would have done it before the whole class and especially in front of your lovely Miura san"

Hayama was taken aback for a moment but his mask did not slip entirely, "Confident are we?" he asked.

"Of course" she nodded her head, "I am always confident."

"Well it's a good thing you didn't do that Sagami-san" he said, with a less than cheerful smile, "Because if you did I would have rejected you" after a pause he added, "Not that I am saying it would have been your fault but it's just that right now I don't think I am in the correct mindset for dating anyone"

Hayama had revised this statement and imprinted it into his psyche after their school tip to Kyoto where Ebina had said something similar to Hikigaya over his fake confession. He often pondered whether they had planned this even before they went away on their trip but that would be a secret he might never find out.

"That's a lot of words Hayama-kun" she giggled, "But it's a pity that you wouldn't have been able to say a single word after I confessed to you."

He quirked an eyebrow, "Why not?" he questioned.

"Because I would have kissed you silly" she gave a sugary giggle.

Hayama Hayato grew more and more anxious over this entire exchange of words. He often got the impression that Sagami wore a mask like him and that is why Hikigaya was able to unravel her secret and cause a well established meltdown which ultimately was resolved by his own meddling but right now he was not here and Hayama had to handle this situation without slipping off his mask.

"If that is all you wanted to say Sagami-san, then I better leave" he said dismissively.

"Why? Worried I might just do what I said? Hmm?" she smiled devilishly

"…Not at all" he said offhandedly, "It's just that I took Ebina to the infirmary earlier and I was thinking about visiting her to check whether she was feeling alright or not?" It was a complete lie, in fact it was Kawasaki Saki, if he remembered correctly who took her to the infirmary, but there was no way she could know about that.

"You might wanna skip the infirmary for the time being Hayama kun" she said morbidly, "Because right about now Ebina and that-that-that- CREEP! Are using the beds for a different purpose altogether" she shuddered involuntarily, "The things I heard! I might be scarred for life."

Hayama looked puzzled. Certainly she couldn't have been talking about Ebina and Hikigaya like that but instead of asking anything more he decided to leave quietly.

"Oh Hayama-kun, wait a sec!" he turned around.

"What is it?" this time his smile was strained.

"…Nothing just remember Hayama-kun that you did me a favour back then", she was obviously talking about the festival fiasco,"And I would be more then happy to return the favour." She drawled seductively," Anytime."

"…Go-Good to know" he turned his face around at the right moment otherwise Sagami Minami would have seen his flushed features. Hayama Hayato slowly made his way down the stairs and a small giggle wafted into his ears which made him wince involuntarily.

He handled Haruno while growing up and he was handling Hikigaya these days but if there was another like them then he was not sure whether he could stop himself from going mad.

Unlike Miura and the others Sagami did not believe in playing safe and although she was nowhere near the level of Haruno as evidenced by her farcical meltdown, she could still prove troublesome.

Hayama gave a tired sigh, "Why does this always happen to me?"

/

A/N:

The idea for this chapter came from JijiDa WaterFlea. Also everyone, you can now leave pairing requests and prompts. I am open to writing almost everything as this chapter clearly showed.

So leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams


	5. Scene 5 Bro-con

Don't Own Oregairu

Scene#5: Bro-con

Characters: Hachiman/Komachi

Genre: Family/Romance

Word count: 1426

"Eh? Onii-Chan, you are back"

"Huh, Komachi what are you doing here?"

Hikigaya Hachiman found his younger sister Hikigaya Komachi in the service club. She was sitting on his arbitrarily assigned chair while making idle chit chat with both of his club mates Yukinoshita Yukino and Yuigahama Yui. His foxy kohai and student council president Isshiki Iroha was also present in the service club and it seemed he had interrupted them from some very happy discussions because none of them looked pleased and all of their cheeks were a little red. If he didn't know better, he would say that all of them were blushing. However Komachi appeared her normal, cheerful self.

"Onii-chan, where were you?" she looked at Yuigahama, "I asked Yui-chan and she said you were sprouting some nonsense about poison and stuff. I got so worried, you know?" she got up from her seat and hugged him tightly, "Please don't give up onii-chan. If you kill yourself then who would look after poor, old Komachi!"

"Who said anything about killing myself" Hachiman asked puzzled, "I only thought that someone poisoned my tea."

Komachi stiffened and turned around to pout at Yukinoshita, "Yukino-chan please don't put weird stuff in my onii-chan's tea. You can do better than that."

"Komachi-san I did no such thing" Yukinoshita defended herself, "Your onii-chan must have eaten something which did not sit well with his rotten stomach" she looked at Yuigahama with a wordless accusation.

"Eh? Yukinon! I didn't do anything! Believe me!" Yuigahama said loudly, "Hikki started acting weird after Miura said something to him, that's all"

"Senpai, what did Miura-senpai ask you?" Isshiki asked with a powerfully innocent look, "Won't you please tell me, pretty please~"

"Onii-chan won't fall for it Isshiki-senpai" Komachi shook her head, dismissing her "He has the original and far more cuter version wrapped around his arms, am I right, Onii-chan~~~"

Hachiman nodded his head vigorously, "You are the cutest little sister I could ever have Komachi. You have nothing to fear. I would never leave you for anyone else."

Komachi chuckled, "That's my line you stupid gomi-chan. You should probably worry about me leaving you over another guy."

Hachiman looked at her with a fearful look, "Please don't leave Komachi. Whoever comes between us, I will kill them"

Yukinoshita cleared her throat, "This is all very touching and everything but don't you think you are being a little overdramatic Hikigaya-kun"

"No!" he replied solemnly.

"Sis-con" Isshiki said loudly enough for everyone else in the room to hear and as she expected Yuigahama and Yukinoshita nodded in agreement.

"Say what you want about me, but I will never change and neither will my love for my dear sister" Hikigaya said shameless to the other occupants of the room.

"Don't say that Onii-chan" Komachi said, "You should change a little bit and maybe you should keep your sis-con tendencies a little private, when we are in company of others"

Hachiman said nothing else but he understood her words and slowly nodded his head in agreement before finally getting reminded of the purpose of his visit to the service club. Now he was thankful that Komachi was here to help him out with his peculiar problem.

"Komachi do you have a tampon?"

Every girl in the room looked at him like he had gone completely crazy and were asking them for their heads instead of…what he was asking.

"Shocking! Absolutely shocking! Despicable" Yukinoshita began her steady stream of adjectives.

""Eww! Hikki! Don't say that out loud!" Yuigahama hid her face with both her hands.

"So Gross! So gross senpai!" Isshiki wailed

Komachi for her part looked only a little shocked and her words were calm and collected.

"Onii-chan, don't do perverted stuff in school. You can get reported you know?"

"Komachi what do you think I need a tampon for, huh?" he asked bewildered, "It's for one of my classmates, she is in pain over, you know" he blushed, "…Menstrual cramps"

"I don't think…" Komachi trailed off at getting the pleading looks of all the other girls in the clubroom. Clearly they were uncomfortable with this topic of discussion.

"You know what onii-chan, why don't I come along" Komachi mused, "Because let's face it you are pretty useless when it comes to this sorta things, aren't you?"

"Don't blame me Komachi" Hachiman huffed, "Pretty much every guy is rendered useless when it comes to this type of stuff."

"Silly gomi-chan" Komachi snickered, "Do I have to explain this to you again" she whispered loudly for everyone to here, "How women are fertile during~"

"Please don't! Have mercy" Hachiman pleaded with her sister.

"Ok onii-chan, I will save you from the gory details but only because I love you" she said cheerfully, "Kyaa~ That was worth a lot of point's don't you think?"

"Yes, yes Komachi," Hachiman said, "I love you too"

Komachi pouted, "That won't work every time, you know"

Hachiman looked puzzled, "Then what do I have to do?"

"Simple" Komachi giggled with a bashful look, "You have to kiss me" she pointed to a spot on her cheek, "Right here"

"Ah! Is that all, you had me worried for a second there Komachi" Hachiman swooped down on her younger sister and gave an affectionately chaste kiss on her check at the spot she had just showed him.

"Mm~" Komachi moaned affectionately much to the others chagrin. All the club mates were growing extremely flustered with the showering of affection and the over indulgent exhibitionism.

"Hey now, that was worth a lot of points don't you think" Hachiman smirked.

Komachi sighed, "It would have if you hadn't just spoiled it by opening your mouth, my silly onii-chan"

Hachiman shook his head in amusement, "You had your fun Komachi now follow me. We have to hurry"

Komachi looked at the seething people in the clubroom, "I will be there just in a minute. I have to pick some things first, ok?"

"Ok, then" Hachiman said before adding blushingly, "And would it be ok if you go to the infirmary alone. I don't think I will be able to handle Ebina-san in her state anymore."

Komachi glared, "That's a very rude thing to say oniichan"

"Oh sorry" Hachiman apologized, "Take your time but don't take a lot of time, ok?"

Komachi smiled, "Just go already shoo, shoo"

After Hachiman left the other girls finally found there voice.

"I don't know how you handle him Komachi-san" Yukinoshita asked, "That man lacks the proper etiquette to live in a civilised society."

"Yeah Yukinon" Yuigahama agreed and blushed, "I-I mean if Hikki asked me for a tamp-tamp- I mean one of that, I would have died out of embarrassment, you know?"

"We feel extremely sorry for you Komachi-chan" Isshiki giggled, sounding hardly sympathetic of her plight, "I can't imagine how awful it must feel to live with senpai all the time."

Komachi smiled a type of smile which would have made his older brother proud, "You are right Isshiki-senpai, you can't imagine that" she said while smiling, "But I also know that the three of you would kill to be in my shoes, just about now."

Yukinoshita scoffed, "Pardon me Komachi-san but I think it is hardly worth the overall embarrassment."

Komachi giggled at her, "You are right about that part Yukino-chan but that's not what I am talking about" she said, "I am talking about the part where onii-chan kissed me in the cheek when I asked him to," She pointed to the said spot, "Right about here"

Yukinoshita blushed to her roots, "It seems I was mistaken in my earlier assessment of your character Komachi san. It seems like you are a bro-con like you elder brother is a sis-con."

Komachi got up and gathered her things, "You might be right Yukino-chan but like I always say" she smirked, "There is no such thing as a bro-con. Just sisters who don't love their brothers too much" she waved her small goodbye, "Take care Yui-chan, Yukino-chan, Isshiki-senpai."

After Komachi left Isshiki pouted in an ill-tempered manner.

"Whose idea was it to make her a member of the service club, anyway?"

"You are one to talk Isshiki-san" Yukinoshita scolded, "You are not a member yourself."

"Stop fighting you two!" Yuigahama pleaded then almost said to herself, "I never thought how those two could be this much alike. I mean I know they are brother and sister, and all but still."

"Indeed" Yukinoshita grumbled and then it was unanimously decided that the entire chapter should be put to an end.

/

A/N: wildarms13 you are an absolute genius!

Thank you for the wonderful idea.

Now I can put the Ebina episode aside. Yeah it got the least reviews and views and it might have been a little cringe worthy but to be fair I was sleep deprived and during that condition…well your brain googles weird shit up and you think it is a good idea to write them down. My sincerest apologies to anyone who was offended by it

Ok, now back to this chapter and I have to say, this was a semi-big chapter (1426 words).

So, hopefully everyone enjoyed reading this.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams.


	6. Scene 6 Jealous

Don't Own Oregairu

Scene#6: Jealous

Pairing: Totsuka/Yui

Genre: Friendship/Romance

Word count: 757

"Yahallo! Yui-san, are you alright?"

"Yahallo to you too, Sai-chan and…I am fine. But thank you for asking."

Totsuka Saika did not exactly believe a word Yuigahama Yui was currently saying because she had just walked onto the tennis court in the middle of a practice match, which had interrupted his game and had made his club members a bit annoyed.

But he had already attended to that matter and right now he was only worried about the well being of his class mate who looked like she had been sleep-walking throughout the entire school ground.

"You don't look alright Yui-san, here why don't you sit down for a while and take a little rest."

"Oh, yeah, um thanks. I will do just that."

Both of them sat down on a nearby bench while Saika overlooked the practice of his tennis club. Like always there would be room for improvement but he was proud of their hard work nonetheless.

"Hey, Sai-chan, mind if I ask you something?" Yui asked

"Yeah sure, anything Yui-san" Saika said.

"Well it's just that" Yui blushed, "There is this guy I like but he kinda never notices me, you know"

"I think it would be kinda hard not to notice you Yui-san" Saika said with a small chuckle, "You kinda stand out."

"Oh!" Yui looked crestfallen.

"Wait a minute Yui-chan! I didn't mean it in a bad way" Saika quickly amended, "I mean you are a strong and powerful presence" he pointed to himself, "I mean look at me! I was tired after playing tennis for so long but after talking to you I feel good as new. Fully fresh!" he gave a nervous giggle.

"Oh, did I do that" Yui blushed, "Um, you're welcome I guess"

"I know" Saika said looking at her from the corner of his eyes, "I am very welcome"

"Eh? Sai-chan you have been hanging around Hikki for too long" Yui stated, "That sounded almost creepy, you know?"

"Oh! Did I sound creepy," Saika blushed, "I'm so sorry Yui-chan. Please don't be angry."

"Alright, alright Sai-chan, I won't be angry" Yui replied and then feeling mischievous she added, "But if you don't want me to be really angry then you have to make a confession."

"Whaa!" Saika blushed a deeper red, "Wh-wh-what kind of confession?"

"You have to tell me the name of someone you like just like I told you, ok?" Yui said with glee.

Saika thought for a moment before realization dawned on him.

"Um, but Yui-chan you didn't say the name of the person you like" he said while pouting, "Then why should I, huh?"

"Then you do admit that you like someone" Yui said with a smug smile

Saika couldn't say anything. Clearly Yui had unravelled one of his secrets and now this would become a huge problem.

"Oh, I feel like Hikki right now" Yui said further, "This is how he does stuff, you know. How he learns the truth from people without asking them directly"

Saika smiled in thought, "Yeah, Hachiman is special like that."

"I'm so jealous of Sai-chan, you know" Yui said with a pout.

"Eh? Why?" Saika asked bewildered, "What did I do?"

"You don't have to worry Sai-chan. You did nothing wrong" Yui said, "It's just that you are so close to Hikki, you get to call him by his first name and I don't…and that kinda makes me jealous." She gave a small pout, "I know it's stupid, but I still feel jealous of you Sai-chan" her voice grew soft, "I'm sorry if I made you feel bad."

"Not at all Yui-chan. I don't mind you being jealous of me" Saika consoled her before saying more to himself, "Sometimes I feel jealous too."

"Really?" Yui grew curious, "You get jealous over who?"

Saika smiled cheerfully and said with a giggle, "Over Hachiman of course, who else?"

"Really, over Hikki? But why? Yui asked.

"Because he is close to you Yui-chan" Saika said honestly.

"…Oh, you think so" Yui blushed over a completely different reason then Saika.

"Yeah, he is" Saika added, "Unlike someone I know"

"Oh, but who could that be?" Yui closed her eyes in deep thought.

"…I better get back to practice Yui-chan." He spoke abruptly and his voice was a little tense, "Take care."

"Yeah you too Sai chan." Yui said having no idea about Saika's trouble, "And all the best for your practice"

Totsuka Saika blushed, "Thanks Yui-chan" he said before leaving his thoughts about her back onto that unoccupied bench. It was better if he focused his mind on playing tennis.

/

A/N:

Well, there you have it, a Tot x Yui chapter

Thank you Predator7 for the wonderful idea

Everyone else keep sending me more pairing ideas and prompts

I will try my best to have them done.

I will write four chapters per day so be on the lookout for new chapters because this site has some problem over quicker updates made within 24 hours. I don't know why but this seems to be a

Problem and they don't give notification alerts. *sad face

Anyway, after every five hours, hopefully, there will be a new chapter waiting for everyone to read.

Till then, hope everyone enjoyed this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams


	7. Scene 7 Tobe

Don't Own Oregairu

Scene#7:

Characters: Shizuka/Tobe

Genre: Humour/Romance

Words: 867

"You know why you are here Tobe, don't you now?"

"Uum, um, no… nope! I have no idea, why I am here… but lemme tell you sensei, I din't do nothin' okay! You havta believe me here"

Hiratsuka Shizuka took a deep and tired sigh and let it out slowly, "So, Tobe you are saying that you didn't create a ruckus in the school infirmary and threatened to punch a member of the staff if they didn't let you in to check on your…friend"

Tobe gulped and chuckled nervously, "Hehe!, oh about that, well you see here, sensei…um I was just kiddin' around y'know, hehe…I didn't really punch anyone you know. So I should be given credit for that, am I right? Huh? Huh?" he wiggled his eyebrows at her cheerfully.

"Don't be this happy over creating unwanted trouble in the school premises Tobe!" Shizuka scolded, "It's because of behaviour like this that you get called a delinquent."

"Eh? Buh sensei I din't hurt anybody, you see" Tobe defended himself, "I was just lookin' fer my friend, is all."

Shizuka looked at him rather sternly, "This friend of yours, is it Ebina Hina from your class by any chance?"

"Yah! Yah! That's the one sensei!" Tobe said excited, "Can you tell me what happened to her? None of the girls are telling me, you see. It can't be anythin' serious, can it? Can it?"

Shizuka rubbed her temples with her finger to stop an oncoming headache, "Well Tobe she is in the middle of some girl problems you know? It's best if you left her alone for the time being."

Tobe looked contemplative for a moment before a sad look crossed on his face, "So that's why she…" he trailed off.

"Yeah Tobe… that's why" Shizuka agreed.

"Oh buh I nev'r knew sensei. You see, I knew she was all into that fujoshi stuff an' I was ok'y with it but I nev'r thought she would be into girls. Who woulda thought, Ebina-san was a lesbian."

Shizuka looked alarmed, "Hey wait a second Tobe, when did I say that?"

Tobe looked puzzled, "Um, right about now, y'did sensei. You said she was havin' girl problems, you know? And I get it…well I think I kinda do. I mean just like when a guy has girl problems maybe lesbians could also have girl problems, you know what I mean?" Tobe looked a little crestfallen, "But she doesn't have to worry sensei, I will support her in every life choice she makes. You can bet on it!" he gave her a thumbs up for some reason.

"Tobe, that's not what I meant" Shizuka looked annoyed, "Are you really this innocent or are you just an idiot?"

"Huh?"

"Nothing!" Shizuka said while blushing and in near aggravation, "I don't have the time to teach you about those kind of stuff. For now just know that you shouldn't go anywhere near the infirmary or near Ebina because if you do, then I will kick you into the next dimension."

Tobe had a blank look on his face, "Oh! Now I get it. It was a Dragon Ball reference! You are funny sensei. Very funny! Haha!Haha!"

Shizuka had enough, "Ok, you can leave now Tobe" her voice sounded very close to being violently angry and Tobe got his head in gear at that final moment and decided to leave early before she could punish him like she often does their resident dead fish eyed loner.

However before he could leave his sensei stopped him with her frigid voice.

"And just for the record Tobe, don't stare at a girl's breast while talking to them" she gave him a very displeased look, "We really hate it when guys do that" she said acidically.

"Well that's not actually mah fault sensei" Tobe chuckled nervously, "It's just that you have very big breasts, is all"

"…"

"…"

Tobe finally realised what he had said and quickly ran for his life leaving behind one lividly angry and furiously blushing, unmarried and sexually frustrated sensei.

"Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Die! Tobeechi Die!" she growled and punched a nearby wall making a small crack to appear within a few seconds. But then she looked at his statement in a different light.

"Hmm…I still got it. Even in a class full of beau…I mean decent looking girls, I still look the best. Hurray me! Hurray me!" Then she got angry again, "Then why am I not getting married! Huh? Why! Why! Why!" she continued to thrash her office to blow of some much needed steam.

Unknown to her a certain dead fish eyed loner had been listening to her tirade. He was called in to resubmit one of his essays once again but right now he was more worried about his own life than a bad grade.

"Please somebody marry her already" Hikigaya prayed silently, "If anyone doesn't marry her then I will end up marrying her instead. Just wait a few more years for me sensei and I will be the ideal househusband" a dustbin was upturned by a violent kick, "…or maybe I should just give my number to Miura instead." He added nervously after witnessing the carnage.

/

A/N:

Well, the idea for this chapter was given by a guest reviewer.

Hope, everyone enjoyed reading this

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

And remember for every five reviews you get a new chapter

Won't betray your dreams

PS-For the next chapter I will be using AK-103's idea.


	8. Scene 8 Hiding

Dont own Oregairu

Scene#8: Hiding

Pairing: Hikio/Miura

"Eh? Why are you hiding like that Hikio"

"Because I fear for my life. Please go away"

Miura Yumiko pouted at Hikigaya Hachiman who was currently ducking underneath a low wall and trying to keep himself hidden from some invisible kind of enemy. She herself took a look around but there seemed to be no one around this area to be this much afraid of that one had to cower in fear of there very presence, quite literary.

"Hikio, there is no one here" she said coolly.

"No you are wrong! She is prowling the school grounds in search of me. She is out for my blood!" He said in a quivering voice.

Miura grew a tad worried, "Who are you talking about?"

Hikigaya rolled his eyes at her, "Sensei, of course. Who else do you think I am talking about?"

Miura thought about this for a moment. She knew Hiratsuka sensei could be a little temperamental and she had a bad habit of punching and kicking him over small matters, but those were mainly done for comical effects...right?

"What did you do to her Hikio?" She asked slowly.

Hikigaya scoffed, "What I did? You should be asking what that overgrown buffoon, you keep around your clique did." He had a dark look on his face, "Tobe pissed her off and now she somehow thinks its my fault that she can't get married."

Miura looked confused, "What are you saying Hikio? You are making no- eep!"

Hikigaya had yanked her down beside him before she could finish her sentence.

"Stay very, very quiet" he warned.

Miura nodded her head and blushed. She was sitting very, very close to him and she could feel the warm nervous tension radiating from his body. She felt quite at ease like this with him sitting beside her while he kept a vigilant watch over their enemy.

"I see movement" he said quietly and she felt his breath tickle her ears gently which made her cheeks grow hotter.

"I know you are out there Hikigaya" an almost unearthly voice reached her ears and she found herself shivering in fear, "Come out, come out where ever you are. Hehe! Hehe!" Hiratsuka Shizuka chuckled like a wicked witch.

"Oh God!" Miura mouthed silently. Now she understood his fears.

"Listen Miura" Hikigaya began, "I know this might be a problem for you but it seems like we have to stay like this for a while until she moves out of here and looks for me somewhere else" he pleaded with her, "Please Miura, don't give away our position and stay right down here, okay?"

Miura snuggled deeper into his chest and looked upto him with a blush on her face and a pout on her lips, "I am doing you a huge favour Hikio. What will you do for me?" She asked smugly.

"Anything you ask, Miura" he said In a small voice.

"Well you can start by giving me your number then" she replied with a proud smile.

"I will find you Hikigaya Hachiman!" a loud roar echoed in the ground, "I WILL FIND YOU!"

...And Miura found herself hugging Hikigaya for her dear life and she was extremely happy when he returned her hug. Over all this was a nice moment...except for the psychotic sensei who was conveniently loose on the scool grounds.

A/N

I felt like writing a Miura x Hikio chapter.

The 8man x Kaori chapter will take place a little bit later. It will be good so I am taking a little bit of time to figure it out.

Till then, hope everyone enjoyed this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams


	9. Scene 9 Defending

Dont own Oregairu

Scene 9: Defending

Pairing: Hikio x Miura

"Oh, wait till I get my hands on Tobe! He will be in a world of pain, when I am done with him"

"Let it go Miura. It wasn't his fault"

Miura huffed loudly at Hikigaya. She was scared out of her life because Tobe had gone out and pissed of their over sensitive homeroom teacher and now somehow she had decided to take out her anger on her entire class by torturing them with loud outbursts which she topped off with a huge ton of homework that had to be submitted the very next day.

"And just explain to me how it isn't his fault, Hikio." She asked rather crossly, "He almost had us killed!"

"You would have been safe Miura" he said blandly.

"Huh? But how" she asked in confusion.

"I would have found out a way to get you out of that situation" he said simply.

Miura blushed. Hikio was actually worried about her safety when their sensei had gone full brezerker mode. That felt nice.

"Still, Tobe did a stupid thing" she repeated with a pout.

"Of course he did. That's why he is Tobe" he replied blandly.

Miura glared at him in annoyance, " Why are you getting so worked up over defending Tobe. Did you two become best friends when I wasn't looking?"

Hikigaya blanched visibly at her words, "Me and Tobe? Friends? I would rather become best buddies with Yukinoshita Haruno"

Miura scowled at hearing this name, "Now who the hell is she Hikio?"

"A demon" he replied with a straight face.

Miura wondered whether he was telling her the truth or not but she decided to let the matter drop, well, at least for now.

"Hikio you evaded my question. You still didn't tell me why I should not be angry with Tobe." She asked tersely.

"Well like I said Miura, he is an idiot and also he was worried about Ebina. You know she was sick right? And she had to be taken to the infirmary" he blushed over the memory of what actually happened and what he did to her in the infirmary. As far as he was concerned no one else would learn that particular detail from him, "Anyway, like I was saying she was in the infirmary and Tobe wanted to see her to know if she was alright or not. I don't think he did anything tremendously bad"

"He could have waited like the rest of us, you know?" Miura argued.

"Well, he loves her and we have already established that he is an idiot so I guess, he gets a free pass" Hikigaya shrugged his shoulders, "All is fair in love and war, they say."

Miura blushed at his words. She was already imagining Hikio and her in a similar situation and it made her feel...gross.

"No!No!No!" Miura shook her head vigorously and a dark blush covered her cheeks, "I don't care what you think! Tobe is going to pay" Miura seethed.

Hikigaya involuntarily took a step back from her.

'Maybe I shouldn't have given her my number after all' he thought.

A/N

This just got turned into a Hikio x Miura show! All chapters from now on will mostly feature this pairing.

But Don't worry I will insert the more...colorful pairings too.

Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams


	10. Scene 10 Orimoto

Don't Own Oregairu

Scene#10: Orimoto

Story idea by: The Sender and The Traveller.

Characters: Hayama/Kaori

"Arey! Are you the famous Hayama Hayato by any chance?"

"...I don't know anything about famous, but that is my name, yes"

Hayama Hayato looked at this new girl with curly brown hair with a pleasant and charming smile. Judging solely by her uniform she was not from around Sobu High and hence he had to be responsible for giving her a good impression of himself and his school.

"Well, you already know my name, but I don't know yours" he said beaming up at her.

"Oh silly me" the girl giggled, "I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Orimoto Kaori."

"Alright Orimoto-san" he said, running the name through his mouth and putting it in his memory, "Why were you looking for me?" Hayama was already having a flashback to his previous conversation with Sagami and he did not need a repeat telecast of the same.

Orimoto cocked her head to the side, "Who said I was looking for you?" She asked in confusion.

Hayama streched his smile wider, "Why you did Orimoto-san. Just now"

Orimoto shook her head, "I don't think so Hayama-san. I just asked whether or not you were the famous Hayama Hayato and you said you were. I never said I was looking for you" she thought for a moment then snapped her fingers, "Arey, now that you mention it I do kinda think that I was looking for someone." She said, "But it's just not you" she pouted.

Hayama relaxed and asked, "Then who are you looking for Orimoto-san. I might be able to help you out a little." He said kindly, "I know a lot of people in my school" he said emphasising his point.

Orimoto gave him a cheeky look, "I doubt you will know him Hayama san." She said, "The guy I am looking for likes to keep himself in the down low" she told him, "He is not exactly shy, or maybe he is, I don't know, but back in middle school I definitely thought he was a creep."

Hayama stiffened a little, "May I know his name?" He asked politely.

"Yeah, yeah sure." Orimoto said, "His name is Hikigaya Hachiman"

This time around Hayama was unable to keep his features entirely cool and much to his discomfort Orimoto was able to pick up the slipping of his mask

"That's the usual type of reaction I expect from anyone who gets to know him" Orimoto said casually, "I'm guessing you two are not friends?" She asked.

Hayama sighed, "I think so but honestly I can't tell"

Orimoto laughed, "Sounds about right" she said in between giggles.

Hayama gave a nervous chuckle, "Why do you want to meet him Orimoto-san, if you don't mind me asking?"

Orimoto put both her hands behind her back and rocked on her heels, "Honestly, I don't know myself" she paused before adding, "Maybe I want to find out if I have any regrets"

Hayama looked confused at her reply, "I don't think I understand what you are saying Orimoto-san"

Orimoto smiled, "You are hilarious! Haha!" Then she said in her normal voice, "I didn't want you to understand that Hayama-kun." Her eyes twinkled, "I just wanted to sound cool!"

Hayama relaxed a little, "Well you did sound cool Orimoto-san. And if you want to look for him you then you should better check the service club. Do you want me to take you there?"

Orimoto shook her head, "No need. I can find the place myself"

Hayam nodded, "Well then, I should better leave you to your search Orimoto-san"

Orimoto grinned, "Yeah thanks. Oh by the way do you wanna go out for coffee sometimes?

Hayama was taken aback by the sudden question, "Wha?"

"Oh don't worry Hayama. I am not asking you out on a date. It's just plain coffee between two new friends" Orimoto reassured him, "Besides you are really not my type."

Hayama gave a genuine smile at her remark, "I would like that"

"Which part?" Orimoto asked cheekily, "The coffee part, or the friend part or the not my type part?

Hayama shook his head in amusement, "You are very funny Orimoto-san. I'm glad we got to know each other today"

"Same here, same here" Orimoto agreed.

Both of them said their farewell after exchanging their contact info and just when Hayma turned around to leave he heard her cheerful voice reach his ears

"And if you are wondering Hayama-kun, I prefer my men a little more real and genuine"

Hayama did not turn around and he walked away with a small smile on his lips. It seems he had met a very interesting girl today who might have shared a unique past with Hikigaya of all people.

"You learn something new everyday" he thought to himself.

A/N

Okay, you guys can stop giving me any more prompts and pairing ideas now.

I will just finish up the ideas that you guys have already sent me and then just stop writing and focus on my exams.

I am sorry if I sound bitter but I don't know what to do.

I wrote a Miura x Hikio chapter and it got only 2 reviews. Its like just when I got on the ship it started sinking.

And this time I wrote something new, about Orimoto and Hayama and I have no doubt in my mind that I will get only a few reviews.

It felt great to write something new and don't get me wrong this story is getting lots of views (over 3.42 k) but I would feel great if I got some feed back from the readers.

You can write anything, say you hate it, say you love it, I won't mind.

...on sencond thoughts ignore my ramblings

I will keep writing.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Won't betray your dreams

/

PS- The SENDER and The TRAVELLER, thank you so much for the wonderful idea. I hope I was able to do it justice.


	11. Scene 11 Regret

Don't Own Oregairu

Scene #11: Regrets

Story Idea by: AK-103

"Arey, Hikigaya! Long time no see. How have you been?"

"..."

Orimoto Kaori waited for a reply but sadly Hikigaya Hachiman was looking at her like he had seen a ghost. He was not even blinking and that made her a little worried so she moved closer to him and waved one of her hands before his rotten dead fish eyes which did the trick and he came out of his daze.

"Greetings Orimoto" he said simply.

Orimoto pouted, "You are always so formal Hikigaya. Sheesh! Is it really that difficult to say 'whaddup' or 'sup' every once in a while?"

Hikigaya looked confused, "...soup?"

Orimoto heard his response and broke into a loud spell of raucous laughter, "Haha!Haha! That's hilarious. Hehe! I think I just bust a gut back there."

Hikigaya blushed, "Why are you here Orimoto?" He asked tersely

"Oh, about that. I came here for some StuCo business" she paused, "StuCo means Student Council, in case you didn't know"

"I knew that!" Hikigaya snapped, "I'm not that pathetic, you know"

"Hey, back up there for a second" she said, " Who said anything about you being pathetic?"

"...Not everything needs to be said Orimoto" he groused, "I'm good at picking things up"

"Well, you picked wrong" Orimoto said before asking, "Is this because I laughed at your mix up?"

"..." only silence answered her.

"Oh God Hikigaya!" she explained, "I wasn't laughing at you"

Hikigaya snorted, "Yeah right"

Orimoto sighed, "Ok, I'm sorry. I was laughing at you. But I didn't think you were pathetic." She said seriously, "In fact, I thought you were a little dorky"

Hikigaya ran the word through his mind, "Dorky? Is that another word for pathetic"

"No silly!" She smirked, "Dorky is the new sexy"

Hikigaya blushed at her comment, "You should really stop saying stuff like that Orimoto" he said, "Some people might get the wrong idea and they might end up doing something they regret"

Orimoto stared up at him with solemn eyes, "Do you have any regrets Hikigaya?" She asked.

"Plenty" he replied.

Orimoto bristled, "Yeah I have some too" she said with a heavy heart "One of them is you"

"I'm sorry" he replied in a heavy voice.

"Why are you saying sorry all of a sudden" Orimoto snapped, "If anyone is sorry it should have been me" she looked away from him, "I could have handled it better."

"Its not your fault" Hikigaya replied flatly, "I put you in a tough spot. I should have known better"

"Stop blaming yourself Hikigaya" she retorted, "Not everything is your fault" she sighed, "You are really making me regret that decision"

Hikigaya raised an eyebrow, "Regret? Why? Did you-" his lips were shushed by one of her slender fingers.

"Yeah" she said blushing.

Hikigaya took a step back from her and she removed her finger from his lips.

"What do we do now?" Hikigaya asked stupidly.

"I don't know myself" Orimoto replied, "We both have our regrets. We can both try to put them behind us for some kinda closure and move forward, I guess"

"Move where?" He asked like an idiot.

Orimoto blushed, "Well, I have to go visit the StuCo president and I don't know where she is." She said tentatively.

"I can take you to her" Hikigaya offered.

Orimoto smiled, "I would like that."

Both of them turned around and Hikigaya started to lead her down the way to the student council room, when he heard Orimoto's voice from beside him.

"By the way Hikigaya, there is a blonde girl walking behind us who is constantly giving me the stink eye" she said in a loud whisper, "Is she your girlfriend?"

Hikigaya turned around and addressed the blonde Orimoto was talking about, "Oye Miura, do you want something?" He asked plainly.

Miura blushed a little at getting caught but she instantly set her features into an hostile scowl

"Who is she Hikio?" She demanded hotily.

"Um, well she is a former clasmate" Hikigaya replied awkwardly.

"Oh don't be so modest Hachiman" Orimoto emphasised his first name, surprising both individuals out of their wits. She ignored Hikigaya's blush, which she found cute and focused her attention on Miura, "We had a thing." Orimoto said with a wink before turning to Hikigaya, "Isn't that right?"

As expected Hikigaya misunderstood this so called 'thing' to mean his failed confession and hence he ended up giving a nod of agreement, "Yeah we did" he said morosely.

Miura glowered at his response, completely misinterpreting their meaning much to Orimoto's amusement.

"How can you have a thing Hikio?" Miura asked in jealous anger.

Hikigaya sighed, "Miura, I am a guy. We tend to I do stupid things all the time"

Miura looked horrified, "All the time? Are you crazy? Is she crazy?" She shook her head, "I need a moment"

And with that Miura speedily left.

Hikigaya was confused, "Was it something I said?" He asked more to himself.

Orimoto laughed, "Haha! Hilarious. This was a fun day. We should definitely meet more" she added half seriously.

Hikigaya chuckled dryly, "I have heard that before"

Orimoto grew serious at once, "This time it will be different. What do you say?" She asked cheerfully, "Friends?"

"Friends" Hikigaya repeated

And then both of them walked together down a corridor in a pleasant silence.

/

Thank you for all the reviews yesterday. It felt great to read each and every one of them.

Sadly I was able to write only one chapter today.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this

Leave lots and lots of reviews , follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams

/

P.S :- AK-103, sorry for the delay in coming up with this chapter but I wanted to have Kaori interact with someone else before she gets to meet Hikigaya and well one of the reviewers had a great idea of having her meet Hayama and, so this chapter got slightly pushed back.

Hope I didn't disappoint


	12. Scene 12 Extortion

Don't Own Oregairu

Scene #12: Extortion

Story idea by: Mof300

"Hey, I need to borrow some money from ya."

"Huh? What's this about?"

Hayama Hayato looked perplexed. One of his classmates, a rumoured delinquent by the name, um by the name, what was it again?

"Um, Kawasaki san was it?" He guessed, "What's this money about?"

"Doesn't matter" Kawasaki grunted, "Look, ya can just give me the money up front or you can tell me to piss off. What will it be richie?" She taunted.

Hayama gave her a tight lipped smile, "That's not how extortion works Kawasaki san. Perhaps you are new at this." He said, "If you want I can ask Tobe to give you some pointers"

Kawasaki frowned, "Is that your not-so-subtle way of threatening me?" She asked with a scoff, "What? Do you call your muscle to wipe your ass for you too Hayama"

Hayama smiled gingerly, "Now, now lets be civil here" he placated the situation, "Look how much money do you need? If its within reason, I could happily give it to you without any further quarrel, Kawasaki san"

Kawasaki scowled, "Yer the one who started the quarrel blondy" she said, "All I wanted was some money. If ya didn't wanna pay up you could have just said so"

Saying her peice, Kawasaki glared at him before turning to leave.

"Wait Kawasaki-san" Hayama stopped her, "I cannot allow you to extort anymore people. What you are doing is wrong"

Kawasaki looked annoyed, "Hey dumbass, I don't go around extorting people, ya know" she said, "I just needed a little cash, that's all. And ya are pretty much made of money and stuff"

Hayama sighed, "That may be the case. But does that justify extortion?"

Kawasaki looked livid, "Again with the extortion!"she shouted, "Look here pal, I said I wanted to borrow some money. How is that extortion?"she asked, "I would paid ya back first thing in the morning"

Hayama thought about this for a moment, "So let me get this straight" he began tentatively, "When you said that you wanted to borrow some money...you really meant to borrow some money...as in... you intended to pay me back?" He asked with a slightly puzzled looking face.

"Isn't that how borrowing works?" She asked dryly

Hayma chuckled, "Not with me" he said with a bitter smile.

He remembered countless occasions when one of his so called friends had borrowed money from him only to never pay him back. He was prety much used to it by now.

"Huh. Guess rich people have different rules" Kawasaki wondered out loud, "Look, don't worry about it...I will get someone else to pitch in"

"Highly unlikely" Hayama said to her without thinking. Upon the look of confusion on Kawasaki's face he decided to elaborate, "You have already exhausted all your other resources." He said, "I'm your last resort. Otherwise you wouldn't have come to me"

Kawasaki snorted, "Ya got that right"

"That also means this is an emergency" he said unperturbed, "You really need this money for some important purpose, don't you Kawasaki-san?"

Kawasaki looked at Hayama with a bit of surprise on her face before she relaxed into a more comfortable posture, "Wow! Ebina was really right about you" she said coolly, "You are so much like him."

Hayama already knew by 'him' she meant Hikigaya Hachiman. He was not very fond of the comparison.

"Speaking of" he slightly drawled, "Where is he by the way?"

Kawasaki had a sour look on her face, "Giving a tour to another one of his floozies" she fumed.

Hayama smiled, "Seems, Hikitani gets all the girls around here"

Kawasaki scoffed, "What? Ya jealous?"

"Yeah" he replied honestly, "Very"

Kawasaki was taken aback by this slight slip up but she regained her composure within seconds, "Well this has been fun and all, but I really need to leave"

She turned around and was about to walk away when she saw Hayama taking out his wallet.

"How much do you need Kawasaki san?" he asked while smiling.

Kawasaki glared, "Keep your money Hayama" she said, "Or better yet shove it up your ass!"

Hayama laughed, "Great idea Kawasaki-san!" He said, "But I insist. You really need this money and I am happy to provide it for you." He stated simply, "Moreover I insulted you by thinking you are an extortionist. If you have trouble accepting money from me, then think of it as a just compensation from me for questioning your honour"

"...it's for my brother ya know" Kawasaki said while turning around to face him.

She told him the amount she needed and he readily provided it but right before she could take the couple of notes from his hand, she found herself unable to accept his kind gesture.

She shook her head, "I changed my mind" she said, "Keep your money"

Hayama gave her a pained smile, "I'm sorry Kawasaki san but I won't be taking back the money" he said, "Its either yours or your brother's." He stated, "I will personally deliver it to him if I have to" he warned.

"You're so full of shit Hayama" Kawasaki grumbled.

"I know" he grinned idiotically.

Kawasaki sighed and devised of a more acceptable situation, "Look here's what we do. If your adamant enough, then I can take that money from ya as a loan and I will pay it back to ya, as early as possible, but it would be better if you keep something of mine as collateral against your loan" she said professionally, "Ya understand what I'm saying?" She asked.

Hayama sighed, "You are making this needlessly complicated Kawasaki-san" he wiggled the notes in his outstretched hand, "And it's only a couple of bucks"

Kawasaki scowled, "Look richie, a few bucks might not matter to ya but they matter to me." She glared at him, "So what will it be?" She asked.

Hayama sighed once again, "Very well." He said in a tired tone, "What will you choose as collateral?"

Kawasaki thought for a moment before she reached an epiphany and in one swift movement, she grabbed her pony tail and took off the lavender colored scrunchie which held up her hair.

"Here take this" she said, handing it to him, "It might not mean much to ya but this was a gift from my little sister and to me its priceless" she replied with a familial look in her eyes.

"Beautiful" Hayama blurted without thinking.

He had always seen Kawasaki, with her hair in a ponytail, courtesy of her signature scrunchie, but at this moment he was able to witness her free, flowing hair, in all its unrestrained glory and he couldn't help himself from praising her natural beauty.

"Simply beautiful" he said again.

Kawasaki blushed, "Don't get any ideas blondy!" she warned strenly, "That scrunchie is the only thing you're getting from me"

Hayama gave a charismatic smile, "Of course Kawasaki" he said goodnaturedly, "Please take care and don't worry about the money. You can always give it to me later"

Kawasaki scowled, "That won't happen" she promised confidently before giving him an awkward smile, "Anyway, thanks. I owe ya one"

Hayama Hayato saw Kawasaki Saki leave and when he was certain that she was gone and far away from catching him in this very unusual act, he did what he was thinking about doing the moment she handed him her scrunchie.

He brought it close to his nose and gave a long delicious sniff.

"Jasmine" he mused to himself, "Who would have thought?" He smiled mostly to himself.

/

Ok, here's another unusual pairing everybody. I think people read this fanfic more for the love of this type of pairings and I also enjoy the uniqueness of them. But Don't worry a Miura x Hikio chapter will be next.

Till then, Tell me what you think about this chapter? Is it good? Is it bad? Is it horrible?

Anyway, Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams

/

P.S - Mof300, thank you for the idea. At first I thought this chapter will be boring and very small but you proved me wrong. Hope you liked it.


	13. Scene 13 Cats

Don't Own Oregairu

Scene 13: Cat

Pairing: Hikio x Miura

Words: 1529 (Biggest chapter till date!)

"Why me? Oh why me!?"

Miura groused to herself after she left Hikio to walk off with a random girl that could have had a 'thing' with him in the past, like he had delicately referred to while introducing said girl to her as one of his former classmates from way back in middle school.

Hikio had not even said her name to Miura but she already knew that she would hate her guts only because she was being exceptionally close to Hikio without any sense of personal boundaries and proper sense of decorum.

Moreover she called him by his first name! Who does she think she is!?

Needless to say Miura was not in a good mood.

"This always happens to me, you know" she was talking to a random stray cat to make herself believe that she was not crazy enough to start talking to herself.

Miura had seen Yukinoshita talk to a cat and she had heard others comment that they found it cute and not at all creepy, so in a way she was safe.

"You know Cat-san, I think I am very unlucky, you know?" she said gloomily, "At first I had a crush on a guy who was totally my type. He was very handsome and super popular with everyone and anyone and in my heart I knew he is a nice guy with a kind heart" Miura sighed, "But then I met this guy who was the total opposite of him. He was creepy and rotten and he had this pair of dead fish eyes…urgh!" she shivered at the memory, "I mean he looked despicable" Miura took a deep breath "But very soon I realised that I was wrong. Wrong about both of them!" she had a forlorn look in her eyes, "The guy who I liked turned out to be something I did not expect and the guy I kinda hated also turned out to be something… I did not expect" she found herself repeating the same thing over and over again before she looked at the cat with a small smile, "I am boring you aren't I, Cat-san?"

"Nya~" the cat mewed.

"Aaw~ You're such a nice cat!" Miura cooed, "Why can't guys be more like you? You listen to me when I am feeling down and you also say such kind things to make me feel better. You are really nice Cat-san!" Miura petted the cat's head and the cat gave a lovely purr. "Oh! You like that don't you?" Miura giggled, "Thank you for making me feel a little happy Cat-san, but I am still not feeling very good with how things are going for me right now, you know." Miura said honestly to the cat, "I mean, I pretty much gave up on one guy because he was a complete tool, but the second guy is kinda dull and he probably has no clue about my feelings. But how is that even possible? I mean I am being extremely subtle in my approach but he should at least have some idea over why I am sticking to him like glue and tagging around him like lost kitty, don't you think Cat-san?"

"Nya~" the cat nudged her

"Yeah I thought so too" Miura laughed, "Guys are idiots. They have no clue about what's going on around them and they run off with some random hussy at the first chance they get. I mean talk about irresponsibility, am I right?" Miura petted the cat again, "So what do you think I should do Cat-san?" she asked morosely, "Should I just give up?"

"Nya~" the cat cooed.

Miura gave a triumphant smile, "I really like you Cat-san. You're too smart! Don't let anyone tell you otherwise!" she closed her eyes and went into deep thought which lasted only about a few minutes, "Aha! I know what to do. I can call him. Ask where he is, what he is doing…no, no, that would be out of character for me, he would think I am being weird and start avoiding me…hmm, oh yeah! That's right! I can order him to come meet me at once! That will be pretty much what he expects to hear from me and he will be here within a few minutes" Miura giggled, "God! I'm such a genius. I have the beauty and the brains, both going for me. I have the full package!" Miura exclaimed loudly, "How did I stay single for so long, huh?"

The cat surprisingly kept quiet at this but Miura was lost in another world where she was full of herself.

"That settles it!" Miura said confidently, "I will give him a call" She took out her phone and was about to call him up when a random thought made her blush a deeper shade of red, "But…but…this will be our first phone call. I…I…want it to be perfect. Moreover shouldn't the guy be calling me? I mean isn't there a rule like that someplace" Miura shook her head furiously, "Oh God no! If I call him first I will come off as super needy" she scowled into her phone, "Not happening!" she shouted into her phone.

The cat was now looking visibly scared, "Nya~"

"You're right! This won't do. I have to talk to him somehow!" Miura was still talking to the cat much to the creature's ever growing fear for its own safety.

Suddenly Miura had a huge smile on her face and she was bursting with a lot of energy, "But of course, why bother calling when we can text" she took out her phone and hurriedly began typing: "On school grounds near cycle stand. Come at once if you want to live" Miura smiled, "That should have him come running for me, don't you think Cat-san?"

The cat kept a safe distance from this crazy blonde bimbo, "Nya~"

"What do you mean no, you stupid cat!" Miura shouted, "He would come for me. I'm sure of it. Just wait and see!"

Within a few seconds she heard footsteps and turning sideways she spotted Hikigaya Hachiman running towards her with open arms.

'Oh how romantic' Miura thought.

She got up on her feet to receive him but before she could move her long legs even an inch, the cat she was talking to, gave a forward lunge and jumped onto Hikio's outstretched arms and started mewing in contentment.

"Nya~Nya~Nya~"

"There, there, Kamakura" Hikio said soothingly into the cat's ears while rocking him gently in his arms much to Miura's ever growing revulsion, "You don't have to be scared anymore, my precious. Hachiman has got you! Hachiman has got you now! I have you in my arms and I am never letting you go" Hikio continued his comforting actions, lost in his own world, "When we go home I will be treating you to a special dessert, okay?" Miura felt nauseous.

He was probably talking about giving her a couple of fresh fishes, Miura thought… because there was now way he could be talking about doing perverted things to cat…could he?

"Oh Miura! You are here" Hikio seemed to have finally noticed her, "Did you find Kamakura on your own. I don't think Komachi mentioned asking you to join the search but I am incredibly grateful" Hikio gave him a half smile and she blushed despite herself, "I never thought I would be saying this but thank you very much Miura. You helped me out, big time."

Miura was very pleased and happy about hearing him say such kind words to her but then her beautiful mind received a healthy dose of cold reason.

"Wait a minute Hikio" she said, "You didn't come here because I sent you a text?" she asked.

Hikio shook his head, "Oh you sent a text after you found Kamakura! How thoughtful of you Miura" he said honestly.

Miura found her anger growing by the minute, "Yeah thoughtful…" she glare at the cat called Kamakura

Feeling her rage Kamakura grew far more scared and started growing restless which did not escape Hikio's notice but like a complete idiot he misinterpreted the entire situation.

"What's up Kamakura? Are you not feeling well?" he asked gently and after noticing a few indications from his pet cat, he nodded his head in understanding "Okay, we better leave. You might need some medical attention"

…And just like that this idiot Hikigaya left with his stupid cat without even saying anything as a proper goodbye to the poor heartbroken Miura.

"…I hate cats" Miura seethed silently, "No wonder I can't stand Yukinoshita" she said in between her angry, clenched teeth.

/

A/N:

Well, we are back to the main pairing everybody!

What do you think? Should I have Miura kill Hikigaya for being such a complete and total idiot? I think he won't survive the story if this continues.

Anyway, hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams

/

P.S- JijiDa WaterFlea, this was the best I could do with your idea. Hope you liked it.


	14. Scene 14: Massage

Don't Own Oregairu

Scene#14: Massage

Pairing: Shizuka x Hikigaya

Story idea by: pewds

Words: 1534 (Biggest chapter yet! But what did you expect it is Shizuka x Hiki)

"Well Hikigaya, you seem to have spent quite a busy day today, haven't you?"

"…I don't particularly recall sensei"

Hikigaya Hachiman was captured and taken into hostile territory to be interrogated, tortured and then punished by none other than his home room teacher, an over active and highly sensitive bachelorette with several mental issues pertaining to her inability to establish a stable relationship with the members of her opposite sex.

Needless to say she was beyond frustrated and unfortunately for him, she had a bad habit of taking out her frustrations on him through countless violent acts which mostly involved punching him in the gut.

Today was one of those days but he was yet to be punched by her and all he could do was to continue waiting in dread for the inevitable blow to finally land on his miserable stomach.

However, Hiratsuka Shizuka seemed to be happy in only giving him a thorough dressing down without resorting to any more physical means.

This only meant hearing her ridicule him through several insults and taunts, mostly related to his lonerism and rottenness, which he could easily tolerate, courtesy of his thick skin.

"Really you don't remember?" she asked mockingly, "Then let me jog your memory." Her voice grew quieter and quieter by every uttered syllable, "At first you listened in on my conversation with Tobe. Then, after you were discovered, instead of taking your punishment like a man, you decided to play a little game of hide and seek. You also brought your pet animal inside school premises and completely ignored school regulations" she was visibly seething now, "And lastly you pretened like nothing happened during class, you even had the balls to submit one of your trashy essays by asking one of your friends, Totsuka Saika to hand it in, instead of doing it yourself" she looked at him with anger evident in her purple gaze, "Tell me Hikigaya, what kind of punishment would seem befitting for a guy like you?" she questioned sardonically.

"…a slap on the wrist?" Hikigaya tried to be funny and failed miserably.

"I don't think so Hikigaya" Shizuka said, "In fact there is only one way for you to get out of this mess with your head still sticking to your torso" she warned venomously, "So, do I have your full attention? Are you willing to do anything I ask, Hikigaya?"

Hikigaya gulped and nodded his head, "Alright, I will do anything" he had no choice but to follow his sensei's instructions.

"Good" Shizuka smiled, nodding her head, "Well then, you can start by giving me a foot rub."

"…excuse me?" Hikigaya wondered whether he heard her wrong.

"You heard me Hikigaya" Shizuka scowled at him, "If you want my help to get out of this mess then I demand a nice foot rub" a small hint of a blush appeared on her cheeks, "I have overheard one of your classmates Ebina Hina going on and on about your…fingers"

Hikigaya blushed, "That was different!"

Shizuka huffed, "I don't care" she said gruffly, "So what will it be?"

Hikigaya sighed, "Alright then, sensei." he said simply, "Lay down on your back and let me have a look at your feet."

Shizuka did what he asked and comfortably laid herself down on a sofa in the back of the faculty room which was used only by her to discuss club matters and provide counselling for troubled students.

At least, she was confident that they would have some much needed privacy for Hikigaya to work his magic.

Shizuka lifted one of her feet gently up to rub one of her ankles with one of her delicate hands. She visibly winced at the pain and Hikigaya noticed this quite clearly. She gave him a wry smile, "They are a bit sore from all the standing, Hikigaya." She said, "Teaching is a tough job, you know"

Hikigaya nodded his head in understanding, "Then sensei, may I?" he asked for her permission before he could begin his massage.

Shizuka nodded her head, "Go right ahead." She faced her student and brought her legs up to him so that he could ascertain the damage and start working on a temporary relief.

Her toes curled in embarrassment at his overt scrutiny before she found her voice to complain, "What are you waiting for Hikigaya?"

Hikigaya Hachiman heard her voice and snapped out of his thoughts, "Alright then. Let's begin"

Nothing else needed to be said.

He avoided her eyes and focused on her feet, before gently bringing his hands down on them in a soothing manner. His touch was gentle and comforting and he worked on her legs with practiced ease.

"Mm~ Hikigaya have you ever done this before?" she asked breathily

"Yeah" he said but his hands did not stop and carried their lazy ministration over her sore skin, "I usually do it to my mom when she's hurting like this after a rough day at work"

Shizuka blushed. Getting 'Friend-zoned' was bad but getting 'Mom-zoned' was worse.

"Hey, I'm not your mom!" Shizuka protested loudly and only after she said it did she realise that she sounded like a complete idiot

"I never said you are sensei" Hikigaya said, "In fact, you are way too young to be anyone's mom"

Shizuka blushed at that comment.

He could really say some kind things when he wanted and any comments about her 'young' age would always be welcome from him.

"Mmm~" she moaned abruptly at his touch, "You are really good at this Hikigaya. Ebina was not lying at all" she said

"…if you say so sensei" he blushed

Indeed, it seemed Hikigaya was an expert at giving massages of any kind.

He was rotating his thumbs over the bottom of her feet and it was making her insides completely melt. Slowly he began to knead the skin at the top of her feet and he was rewarded with another breathy moan, "Aahh~~"

Hikigaya blushed again.

Once again this reminded him about the time he had given a massage to Ebina, which was not that long ago but unlike Ebina, his sensei was at least trying to keep her voice down and refraining from voicing any of her feelings in any misleading words.

Still, those soft moans of hers were beginning to take effect on him on a very dangerous level and he was trying his best to not show his discomfort to his sensei, fearing another round of divine retribution due to the curse of his teenage hormones.

"Umm~~~" Shizuka gave such a stirring reaction to him when he decided to change the usual movements of his thumbs and instead tried to trace his long fingers up the length of her soles in one smooth and leisurely stroke, "Yeah do it like that. Go nice and easy and slow~~~" seems he had his hopes up way too early. This was going the same way as it did with Ebina.

"Yeaa~~~~" her voice was growing louder by each passing minute and this time it was because he was massaging each of her toes individually while paying close attention to her heel, running his palm around the curve in a silky manner, "Keep going don't stop!"

Hikigaya did exactly the opposite of what Shizuka asked.

He stopped abruptly and looked at her with a deep blush on his face and a glazed look on his rotten dead fish eyes. Shizuka looked worried.

"What happened?" she asked worried.

"…Bathroom" Hikigaya said that one word before bolting out from the room.

Shizuka blinked for a few seconds before her cheeks started to feel very warm and her insides started to feel a little tingly, "We-well, he is a guy after all" she said to herself, "But boy oh boy! Does he know how to give a foot rub or what!" she giggled bashfully, "He should have just written 'masseur' in his career form and all his life problems would have been solved. Hehe!" Shizuka laughed.

A moment passed, then a few minutes and then a few more minutes.

"He is not coming back, is he?" she asked mostly to herself. Upon getting no reply from any unearthly voice, her temper began to rise "Damn you Hikigaya!" she cursed the air he had breathing a few minutes ago, "I want another foot rub!" she wailed into the silence of the room.

/

A/N:

So, I know that 'Labcoats' and 'Alphabets' haven't been updated for a while and they won't be updated for a while longer. Blame the exams and my tired mind!

Anyway, hopefully this chapter will give everyone their missing dose of "Shiki" i.e Shizuka x Hikigaya. Damn this pairing needs a proper name.

So, how did you guys like this chapter? Was it good? or bad? Or horrible?

Leave lots and lots of reviews follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams

/

P.S- pewds how was this chapter? Was it like you imagined a Hiki x Shizuka chapter would be like. Please let me know what you thought about it.


	15. Scene 15 Senpai

Don't Own Oregairu

Scene #15: Senpai

Characters: Shiromeguri/Hikigaya

Genre: Friendship/Romance

Story idea by: Restraint and MyNameYourName

"Oh my! You seem quite happy to see me now, eh Hikigaya-san?"

"…Shiromeguri-senpai…it's not what it seems."

Hikigaya Hachiman was experiencing a certain stiffness in his pants and he was about to head to the bathroom to relieve himself when none other than his former senpai, Shiromeguri Meguri had caught up with him to talk about old times and like always she was very adamant in her endeavour.

"Oh you don't have to lie to me Hikigaya-san" she smiled knowingly, "I understand. I really do"

Hikigaya blushed, "I just wanted to go to the toilet, that's all."

Shiromeguri nodded her head, "Yes, yes, quite so. I understand. You should indeed go to the bathroom" she smiled conspiratorially, "And take matters into your own hand"

Hikigaya blushed deeper. This was all his sensei's fault and while he was at it he should also blame Ebina. But why was he meant to go through this infernal cycle of suffering. He did nothing wrong. Well, his hormones are to be blamed for this but he was a healthy teenager with a rotten imagination after all. So, he was completely guiltless.

"Well, if senpai would please let me leave" he said awkwardly.

"I am not stopping you" she said cheerfully

"…you are standing before the boy's bathroom senpai" he protested.

"No, I am standing in a corridor which happens to have a boy's bathroom" she smiled, "There is a difference"

Hikigaya sighed, "Well, if you could please move" he pleaded.

Shiromeguri nodded his head and stepped away, "If you were a few years younger I would have lent you a hand, Hikigaya-san" she spoke wistfully.

Hikigaya stared at her in complete shock, "…excuse me?" his mouth was hanging open.

"It's the truth" Shiromeguri replied without shame, "I like boys who are a couple of years younger than me" she gave him an obvious once over, "If only you were two years younger." She gave a sad sigh.

"Um…" Hikigaya didn't know what to say.

"Oh it's very natural for women to like younger men" Shiromeguri provided her own unneeded explanations, "In fact, didn't Hiratsuka-sensei just…" she blushed before adding "…teach you a special lesson"

Hikigaya blushed even more, "You heard it!" he shouted and then realised he was only digging his own grave even deeper, "…No, no, senpai, you heard wrong. I was just giving her a foot rub"

Shiromeguri gave him an appreciative look, "Oh you have a foot fetish!" she looked at him for a moment, "Well, you certainly look the type. I wonder how I missed that."

Hikigaya was growing anxious with this kind of talks but then his rotten brain provided him an opportunity to use this situation in his favour "Well…Shiromeguri senpai, I might not be your type but there is this guy I know who certainly fits your criteria."

Shiromeguri grew curious, "Oh who could this be? Is he a first year?"

Hikigaya nodded his head. He was certainly going to hell for this but he was doing this for the benefit of his young sister, "Yes, he is a first year. His name is Taishi Kawasaki" he said evenly, already feeling sorry for the poor guy, "You might find him personality quite…infectious" Hikigaya couldn't quite say 'bugging' and 'insect-y' now could he?

Shiromeguri gave him a smirk, "Well I would keep that in my mind" she said politely but then she moved unbearably close to him and began to trace his chin with one of her fingers, "However, I do make certain exceptions to my preferences Hikigaya san" she said in a silky voice, "After all you are my kohai as well."

Hikigaya gulped and took a deep breath. His trouser problems were making matters worse and he was having trouble looking away from her twinkling eyes which were glinting with mischief. She continued to rub his chin in thought but he slowly moved away.

"…Well I am flattered" he began, "Um, senpai was there something else you wanted to talk about other than…" he trailed away uncomfortably.

"Oh yes I almost forgot" Shiromeguri snapped her fingers, "I am supposed to tell you that Haruno- senpai is in the building and she is looking for you, as we speak."

"…" Hikigaya was silenced with fear.

Shiromeguri looked at his face and then looked a little bit lower, "Oh my!" she gasped, "Your erection dropped!" she exclaimed loudly.

Hikigaya felt a drop of sweat trickled down his forehead and he suddenly found his throat getting dry.

'Yeah so did my balls' he thought with apprehension.

"W-well t-then senpai" he said aloud in a shaky voice, "I better make a run for it while I still can."

"Oh Hikigaya san" Shiromeguri lamented, "What will you do?"

"…well I am thinking about jumping down a window" he said while looking for any open windowpanes, but unfortunately for him there were none on this corridor, "Don't know whether I would survive but clearly it will be better then facing" his voice shook terribly, "…H-her" he emphasised his dreadful point.

And with that Hikigaya turned on his heels and began running.

Shiromeguri sighed, "Oh my poor kohai!" she smiled, "I could just eat you. Tehee!"

/

A/N:

Well, this was certainly different. Not what I expected.

But to be fair Shiromeguri was Haruno's kohai so…I rest my case.

Also, Haruno is coming!*evil smile

Now this is important:

Do you guys want the next chapter to feature:

1) Haruno or

2) Do you want the next chapter to feature Haruno owning Hayama? It will be total pwnage!

Well, here are your choices. Let me know.

But don't worry one thing is certain: HARUNO WILL BE IN THE NEXT CHAPTER

So, leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams

/

P.S- Restraint and MyNameYourName did both your version of a Hikki x Shiromeguri chapter match or should I write another chapter. Please let me know. Hope I didn't disappoint you both.


	16. Scene 16 Serious

Don't Own Oregairu

Scene#16: Serious

Characters: Haruno/Zaimokuza

Story Idea: Mine

"You cannot pass oh Empress of Darkness! I, Blademaster General of the hidden school of Sobu; wielder of the knowledge of ecchi and moe, forbade thee! The light of this library will not avail you. Amaterasu! Go back from whence you came. YOU SHALL NOT PASS!"

"…It's not nice to speak loudly in a library, you know? Tsk, tsk. By the way, are you a friend of Hikigaya kun?"

Yoshiteru Zaimokuza nodded his head and Yukinoshita Haruno gave him a devilish smile which made most self-conscious people take a step back in unease. She was looking for her one and only future brother in law but sadly he had taken off without notice before she even entered the school premises.

However after psychologically scaring one Hayama Hayato for the remainder of his useless life, she had gained some information about the whereabouts of her favourite guilty pleasure. But then she had come face to face with this fellow who clearly suffers from some mental delusions and is far less boring then she originally presumed.

"So, Blade master general was it?" she drawled casually, "I am here to see somebody. His name is Hikigaya Hachiman. And by the looks of it, he just used you as a distraction for a smooth getaway." She eyed him silently, "You can tell me where he is and then I will be off. What do you say?"

Zaimokuza shook his head, "I am afraid not." He said solemnly, "Colonel Hikigaya has trusted me with his life and I shall honour that trust with my life" he gave her a serious look, "Do your worst, oh foul one!" he said gravely, "But your conquest stops here. You shall not be going much farther anymore"

Yukinoshita Haruno fixed Zaimokuza Yoshiteru with an unnervingly wide smile, "Oh really?" she asks mockingly, "You wanna know how I got this far?" she asked venomously, "I am a nymphomaniac and a fiend. And on days like this I am hornier than usual and I reveal my yandere side to Him." Zaimokuza was certain she was referring to Comrade Hikigaya, "My little sister, Yukino-chan tries to keep me away from Hikigaya-kun but she is not really good at defending herself let alone the person she loves." She smiles wistfully, "And he does not like her back" she utters sadistically, "Not. One. Bit." Haruno moves closer to Zaimokuza with each uttered syllable, "So, with her watching, I take Hikigaya on the service club table, laughing while we do it." Zaimokuza winces slightly and grows uncomfortable by Haruno's advances, "I turn to her, tied and sitting on a chair and say, "Why so serious, Yukino-chan?" she whispers seductively to him, "And then I come on his sword and Yukino-chan almost tries to kill me" Zaimokuza hates the innuendo but he is afraid of her now. So very afraid, "But both of us tie her down to her chair and continue fucking." Haruno talks slowly, "And then I ask her again. A bit loudly while we ride our orgasm." Zaimokuza is blushing now "WHY SO SERIOUS, YUKINO-CHAN?" she whispers loudly in his ears, "I stick my tongue in his mouth" she offers shamelessly, "Let's put a smile on that face!" Haruno is now hovering over Zaimokuza who is already shaking in terror, "And then…" she trails off.

Yukinoshita Haruno has successfully scared Zaimokuza Yoshiteru for life.

"Where is Hikigaya-kun, fat Gandalf" she asks cruelly.

"…H-he is se-seeking sa-sanctuary in the te-tennis c-court" Zaimokusa says between clamouring teeth, "Master Totsuka has offered him a safe haven"

Yukinoshita Haruno nods curtly and turns to leave without so much as a second glance on this pile of mush which had once been a man. However her voice can be heard down the corridor.

"Take care Blademaster General~" her voice is sugary sweet, "And remember." Her voice lowers dangerously, "Don't be so serious~" she offers cheerfully

...And Zaimokusa keels over on the library floor.

"Forgive me comrade for I have failed you" he thinks sadly.

/

A/N:

Okay, so I thought you guy hated Hayama enough for Haruno to destroy him.

But that was not the case. But I needed a chapter like this.

So, how was it? Was it bad? Was it worse?

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams

/

P.S- Do you guys want Haruno to destroy Totsuka?

Also story idea was taken from DK and LOTR


	17. Scene 17 Smiles

Don't Own Oregairu

Scene#17: Smile

Characters: Haruno/Totsuka

"Hah! I made it! The tennis court at last!"

"Um, good afternoon onee-san but what are you doing?"

Yukinoshita Haruno was slightly out of breath but she was quickly able to summon a smile on her face before talking to this petite looking boy with silver hair, who was walking towards her, wearing a proper tennis uniform while being armed with a racquet.

"Good afternoon. My name is Yukinoshita Haruno" Haruno began eloquently but the wince she expected from this kid upon hearing her name was clearly missing, "You might know my younger sister, Yukinoshita Yukino."

Totsuka's face broke off into a bright smile, "Oh her! I know her very well" he said eagerly, "She is the president of the service club and she and her friends once helped me out." Totsuka remembered that instant very clearly but then something intruded upon his memory, "Oh how silly of me. I forgot to introduce myself" he gave a small blush, "My name is Totsuka Saika. I am the president of the Tennis club."

"Oh Totsuka you say" Haruno smiled evilly "You are just the guy I was looking for. You see I have a question I like to ask" saying so she lowers her lips near his ears and whispers, "Where is Hikigaya Hachiman?"

Totsuka freezes and blushes at the close contact, "I don't know where he is Yukinoshita-san" he lies uncomfortably.

Haruno chuckles, "You know, you remind me of this guy I met in the library today" she says evenly, "He tried to lie to me as well" she said glibly, "But it ended very badly for him" she snickers, "The poor man will have nightmares for life!" she exclaimed proudly, "But you Totsuka-san. I seem to like you and I don't really want to hurt you. So~" she exhaled loudly before lowering her voice dangerously, "Tell me where he is."

Totsuka fidgeted slightly, "I really don't know Yukinoshita san. I am sorry" he mumbles awkwardly.

Yukinoshita Haruno gave him an obvious once over before fixing him with her unnerving gaze, "You are beautiful, you know" she says seductively.

Totsuka blushes, "Um, r-really, I don't know."

Haruno giggles, "No really you are beautiful!" she repeats, "And also you are Hikigaya kun's friend" her voice holds a hint of unspoken insult.

Totsuka tries to take a step back, "I-I really should be heading back to my practice."

Haruno reaches forward and grabs his arm, "You look nervous" she says softly, "Is it the smile?" she asks while giving him a big, fake smile.

Totsuka shakes his head, "No. Not at all. I really need to leave"

But Haruno has him under her firm grip, "Do you wanna know how I got this smile?" she asks stoically before grabbing his chin and forcibly making him look at her face, "Look at me Totsuka-san. I promise to be gentle~" she warns playfully.

Totsuka tries to break her hold, "No stop. Don't!"

Haruno has his face trapped in both her palms while he tries to look away, "Now you are reminding me of Yukino-chan, you know" she says wistfully, "She is my little sister, and I love her to bits" Haruno gives a small sigh, "And once upon a time she loved me as well", Haruno's eyes darken, "She used to worry about me a lot, saying stuff like how I am involving myself in the wrong crowd and…"her eyes momentary cloud in terror, "…and how I am putting all my faith in our mother." Slowly her eyes return to normal and Haruno resumes her fake façade, "But you know what! She was right. I did mess up my life." She admits loudly, "But I couldn't let her know" she says glibly, "And so I smile" she stretches her lips, "This big, huge smile" she emphasises her point by grabbing Totsuka's fingers and having them trace across her lips.

Totsuka blushes, "They are soft" he blurts out accidently.

Haruno chuckles, "Why aren't you the clever charmer Totsuka san" she quips before her voice descends into frosty ice "But one day, I take my sister and hand her off to the Hayama family to make friends with their youngest son" her face saddens, "Friends! They said! What a big, fat lie!" she exclaims loudly, "Of course I knew it was nothing of the sort but you know what" she stares Totsuka right in his eyes, "I handed Yukino-chan over to them, I trusted my mother" her voice grows weak, "…and I did everything with this smile"

Totsuka lowers his head, "I'm sorry Yukinoshita-san"

"Oh don't be" Haruno scoffs once again resuming her bright and deceitful persona, "I am not sorry for myself." She giggles, "But you know, my sister, Yukino-chan. She used to feel sorry for me" her voice grows, "And I hated that. I hated that so very much!" Haruno grabs Totsuka by the shoulder and pushes him down, "So I began to meddle in her life, steal her happiness, make her feel unworthy" Haruno states with delight, "I hated every single moment of it, but you know what! It was all for her own good!" Haruno gives Totsuka her biggest smile, "…And I did everything while smiling" she reaches forward to push Totsuka on the ground, making him squirm visibly, "But look at her now! Nowadays she can't stand to look at me!"

Tostuska tries to push himself off, "Yukinoshita-san, I don't want to hurt you. Please get off me!"

Haruno scoffs, "Do try Totsuka san" she says with fake innocence, "But I will have you know" Haruno lowers her lips onto his cheeks and speaks into her chaste kiss, "I really despise people who try to hurt me" she murmurs seductively.

"Then you gonna hate me" a soft masculine voice murmurs from behind both Haruno and Totsuka.

"Wha-!" Haruno's words are cut off by a large net which covers her entire body and makes her momentarily immobile. While she struggles Totsuka is retrieved from her loosened grasp and Haruno gives a dry chuckle at her attacker, "Aah! Hikigaya-kun" she fixes him with her hypnotic gaze while trying to free herself from this net, "You finally showed up!"

Hikigaya ignores her completely and addresses his friend, "Totsuka come with me if you want to live" he gives him his hand.

"…Alright Hachiman" Totsuka replies with slightly flustered features.

And then both Hikigaya and Totsuka run away, hand in hand, from the trapped and subdued Haruno. But unfortunately for them, they are spotted by Ebina and Tobe.

"Kya~~" Ebina exclaims while swooning, "Hikigaya and Totsuka running while holding hands! Go Hachi x Saika! Go Hachi x Saika!" she calls after their retreating figures loudly, "Hurray! Hurray! No, no. It's Gay! Gay!"

And then she spurts blood through her nose and loses consciousness.

"Ebina-san!" Tobe exclaims with worry, "You can't lose anymore blood today, y'know" he turns around to look at both his classmates who have already ran away from his sight, "Get a room, you two" Tobe shouts at them while trying to help Ebina.

/

A/N:

Sorry but I think I cannot get DK out of my head

Think about it:

Haruno as Joker aka Hoker

Hachiman as Batman aka 8atman

So, how was it? Was it bad? Was it horrible?"

Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams

P.S- Next chapter will have Miura x 8man.

The chapter after that will have Haruno vs Yukino vs Miura vs Saki


	18. Scene 18 Help

Don't Own Oregairu

Scene#18: Help

Characters: Miura/Hikio

"Hikio, what the hell happened to you!? You look like you saw a ghost or something"

"H-huh? M-Miura? Is that really y-you? I can't trust my eyes anymore. What is happening to me?"

Miura Yumiko looked at Hikigaya Hachiman with an odd mixture of fear and sympathy. He was sitting on the dirty school ground and he looked like he had faced a near death experience a few moments ago and now it seemed that he was about ready to drop dead before her very presence by the blowing of even a small breeze.

Needless to say it made Miura worried for his wellbeing.

"Hikio, who did this to you?" she kneeled before his weak form and inched closer to get a better look.

"…shita" Hikio mumbled inaudibly.

"Who?" Miura pressed again.

"Y-yuk-yukin-oshita-san" Hikio was finally able to get the syllables out of his mouth.

Miura was taken aback by his reply and now she was visibly glowering, "That bitch!" she cursed, "I knew this would happen to you Hikio, I knew it! One day or another, she would have done something like this to you and made your entire life miserable" Miura fumed, "What did she do to you Hikio? What the hell did she do?" Miura shouted at him with misplaced rage.

"… tube" Hikio was slowly growing unintelligible by the second.

"Hikio c'mon don't do this to me!" Miura said anxiously cradling his head in her palm, "Don't give up! Tell me what happened? Please Hikio!"

Hikio found some of his remedial strength and took a heavy breath, "…She turned me into an internet celebrity."

Miura blinked and looked slightly worried, "Hikio, you are not making any sense. What internet celebrity?"

Hikigaya shook with terror, "That's what I have been asking myself all this time!" He shouted in fear, "One moment I am happy being a loner and the next second, I keep getting email after email from a large number of people who I never even met." Hikigaya took a shaky breath, "Apparently I have gone viral on YouTube!"

Miura was shocked upon hearing this, "Hikio how could this happen?" she asked in complete awe before sobering up slightly in dread, "What kinds of videos did you upload anyway?"

Hikigaya gave her a bland look, "Don't you see Miura! I didn't do anything!" he proclaimed with certainty, "It was all her. All Her!" Hikigaya kept babbling on like a madman, "I don't know how she did it but she did. She must have used green screen effects, makeup artists, and god knows what and it would have cost her a pretty penny but she really wanted to get me for humiliating her and now she did" Hikigaya gave a tired sigh, "Now I will never be alone" Hikigaya looked upto the heavens, "Why God! Why? How could you?"

Miura tried to comfort Hikio but she was out of her depths, "Well if you are really feeling bothered about it Hikio then we can just confront her you know" Miura pointed out, "I mean how hard could it be?"

Hikio looked at Miura like she was a raving loon, "Are you crazy Miura?" he asked, sounding half crazy himself, "How can you even think about confronting her. She is Yukinoshita Haruno!"

Miura took his words and rolled them around her head, "So, wait a minute, you were not talking about Yukinoshita Yukino, right now?" Miura asked in confusion.

Hikio scoffs, "Of course not!" He says, "Do you really think she could be capable of such a cruel thing?"

Miura gives him a contemplative look, "I don't know, Hikio. She can be pretty cruel when she wants to be" she says in a small voice.

Hikio nods his head, "I know that very well Miura" he confirms her beliefs, "But let me tell you Yukinoshita Haruno is very different from her little sister" He shivers upon remembering the most recent events, "She is far more cunning and ruthless and not afraid to make her hands dirty"

Miura hears his words and tries her best to comfort him, "Hikio don't be afraid" she says almost in a pleading voice, "If you want I will help you in any way I can."

Hikio shakes his head, "No Miura. Stay out of this" he tells her solemnly, "I already took Komachi and Totsuka to safety and now I don't want you to get involved in this mess"

Miura huffs and scowls at him, "Well too bad you don't get a say in this Hikio!" she shouts at him, "If I say I wanna get involved then I will get involved" she states firmly, "And there is no one around here who can stop me from getting involved."

Hikio sighs, "Miura, I don't-"

Miura cuts him off with a glare, "I don't care Hikio. You will get me help! I won't listen to anyone who says otherwise not even you!" she said while repeatedly jabbing her index finger on his chest

Hikio sighs and then fixes her with his rotten gaze, "Do you really mean that Miura?" he asks

Miura nods her head, "Every word Hikio"

Both of them stare at each other for a few minutes before Hikio finally decides to get up from the dirty school ground and while he gets up he offers Miura his hand which she readily accepts while trying to hide a small blush.

"Thanks Miura it means a lot" he says to her with full honesty.

"You can thank me when it's over Hikio" Miura says with confidence.

Both these people begin to walk together back inside the school when Hikio finally airs some of his unspoken thoughts to fill the awkward silence.

"You know Miura, if you really do this for me then we will become more than friends" Hikio states firmly.

Miura's cheeks start to become red upon hearing his statement, "Oh really?" she asks in a breathy whisper.

"Yeah, of course!" Hikio confirms her statement, "When this is over we will become best friends!"

…And now once again Miura wonders whether Hikio is just playing dumb or if he really is an idiot.

/

A/N:

And there you have it folk!

The main pairing is back with a bang.

So, how was it? Was it good? Was it bad?

Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams

/

P.S- There are four forums in the Oregairu fandom:

Two by me aka Betrayed Dreams.

One by Predator7 and

One by Bronze vs lee sin.

So why am I telling you guys this? Well its simple.

Forums are quite useless without posts. So~

Post something in them!


	19. Scene 19 Artificially Sound

Don't Own Oregairu

Scene#19: Artificially sound

Words: 3110 (9 pages)

Characters: Hikigaya/Haruno/?

"My, my Hikigaya kun, seems like you invited everyone into our little soirée, hmm?" Haruno gave him an amused smirk

"…Yes I did Yukinoshita san" Hikigaya confirmed from a safe distance before gulping his fears down his throat and timidly asking, "…aren't you even a little bit scared?"

Haruno gave a triumphant smirk "Nope!"

"No?" Hikigaya repeated, "…Not even a little?"

"Nuh-uh" Haruno shook her head, "None whatsoever"

Hikigaya Hachiman sighed and gave up.

He already knew this would be futile. But upon Miura's advice he had decided to take one last stand against her and in this battle he found many unexpected allies.

Miura Yumiko, Yukinoshita Yukino, Yuigahama Yui and Kawasaki Saki were all standing with him and offering him their protection in this life and death battle that was taking place in the service club, where everything all began in the first place.

"Don't just give up Hikio!" Miura said from beside him, "She is just lying to us. Of course she is scared. Who wouldn't be?"

Hikigaya looked at Miura with a sad look in her eyes, "Miura, she is telling the truth" he said morosely, "She is more amused than scared of any of us." Upon seeing the look of disbelief in Miura's emerald eyes, he gave a deep sigh and nodded his head towards another person, "If you don't believe me then just ask Yukinoshita" he said gravely, "She is her younger sister after all."

Miura turned to Yukinoshita, "Well Yukinoshita-san?" she asked raising an eyebrow, "Did we manage to scare your elder sister or what?"

Yukinoshita scoffed, "It seems highly unlikely Miura-san" she said in a cool voice, "Nee-san is well versed in dealing with blonde menaces such as yourself. Your ability to scare her is on par with an ant's attempt in trying to scare off a descending boot"

"Why you little…" Miura was cut off abruptly by an icy cold glare from the service club president.

Haruno giggled upon hearing the comparison, "Wow Yukino-chan! Superb! You make your nee-san very proud, you know" she said in a sugary voice, "Not only did you manage to silence this blonde bimbo with a glare but you also managed to compare her to an ant and me to a boot!" Haruno smiled before speaking in a loud voice, "Outstanding work Yukino-chan! Simply outstanding!" Then she placed one of her palms mockingly over her breast, "Your words actually managed to wound me" she said with a wink before glancing over their shoulders to look at Hikigaya, who had been trying to hide himself, unsuccessfully, in the back, "How about it Hikigaya kun?" she cupped one of her boobs in her palm, "Do you want to take a closer look?"

Hikigaya blushed at her flirty words and looked away, "…No" he said in an almost inaudible whisper.

"Hey ya filthy bitch!" Kawasaki growled, "If ya really want to touch yerself then try doing it at yer own home." She scoffed to hide her blush, "Didn't yer parents teach ya any manners?"

Haruno looked at Kawasaki with only a tiny bit of animosity, "My parents are not quite exemplary like yours, whatever-your-name-is-san" Haruno replied smoothly, "But then again I don't think most mothers teach their daughters how to masturbate now, do they?" she asked with fake innocence.

Kawasaki blushed red and saw crimson in her eyes, "That does it!" she snarled, "Yer going down bitch!"

Everyone in the clubroom saw the action unfold before them.

Kawasaki rushed forward to tackle Haruno, but with some quick, fluid movements and some expert, martial arts skills, Haruno was able to successfully place Kawasaki in an arm lock and render her immobile instead.

"All brawn and no brains. How boring~" Haruno sang mockingly from behind Kawasaki, adding more pressure to her arms and making her wince in pain.

"Let me go ya bitch!" Kawasaki cursed.

"Careful now" Haruno warned in a silky voice, "If I hear any more bad words coming from your mouth then I might accidentally dislocate your shoulder" she moved her lips close to Kawasaki's ears, "You wouldn't want that now would you?"

"Enough!" Hikigaya shouted in anger at this sickening violence "Let her go!"

Haruno rewarded Hikigaya with a pout, "But I don't wanna~" she said in a baby voice.

Hikigaya moved closer, "Yukinoshita san please" he pleaded, "It was my mistake in getting them involved" he watched Kawasaki struggle helplessly and he felt ashamed of his own cowardice, "It won't happen again"

"It wasn't your mistake Hikki" Yuigahama piped up from behind him with a fearful look in her eyes at Haruno's display of cruelty, "We really wanted to help you. Isn't that right Yukinon?"

Yukinoshita scowled, "That is not a correct assumption Yuigahama-san" she said succinctly, "It was never my intention to help Hikigaya kun over whatever quarrel he has with nee-san. My purpose for confronting nee-san are very much my own" she gave Hikigaya a haughty look, "Whatever indirect benefits this vile person gets from my actions are simply collateral and unintended."

Miura glowered, "You know for all your talks about confrontation and what not, you have pretty much done nothing except give long speeches, Yukinoshita-san" she said scathingly.

Yukinoshita huffed, "The same can be said for you Miura san, however you might be happy to know that I am simply waiting for an opportunity to present itself before rushing in without a plan of attack like someone we all now" she said with a dismissive glare, "Feel free to make a fool of yourself Miura-san. I won't be stopping you"

"Yukinon, Miura don't fight" Yuigahama tried her best to neutralise the situation but her efforts were completely pointless… except they weren't, as Hikigaya had taken advantage of Haruno's slight lack of concentration and lunged forward to pry Kawasaki from her evil clutches.

"I got you Saki" Hikigaya said while holding Kawasaki firmly in his grasp and removing her from Haruno's immediate presence, "I got you." He repeated.

"T-thank you Hachiman" Kawasaki blushed at the close contact.

Haruno was slightly put off by having her prize being stolen from her, "No fair!" she pouted before turning to her younger sister "By the way Yukino-chan you never said anything about another girl who was close to Hikigaya-kun like this" she pointed at the awkwardly embracing couple, "I mean they are on a first name basis!"

Yukinoshita sighed, "Nee-san, you will have to excuse Hikigaya-kun's lapse in etiquette" she said sternly with a hot blush marring her face, "He often forgets or mispronounces Kawasaki san's name due to certain mistakes which remain unregistered inside his rotten brain"

"Yukinon you use so many word!" Yuigahama chided before trying to explain this situation to Haruno, "You see Haruno-san, Hikki is a dummy" she says simply.

"Oi Yuigahama, I'm right here you know" Hikigaya protests.

"Yeah and you are still holding on to her for some reason!" Miura fumes, pointing out the obviously clingy Kawasaki who was trying her best to stick even closer to Hikigaya then thought humanly possible, "Hey, let him go already! You are safe"

Kawasaki reluctantly came out of her tight embrace with Hikigaya and her red face was a clear evidence of the level of affection she had formed with him during these small, few moments of cherished closeness.

"Fine then" Kawasaki retorted before scowling at Miura "Yer just jealous at being left out"

"Huh? In your dreams ya freaking amazon!" Miura spat.

"What did you say ya blonde bitch" Kawasaki spat back.

"Calm down you two. Let's not fight" Yuigahama tried again.

"Stay out of it Yui!" Miura snapped.

"You are all acting in a highly irrational manner" Yukinoshita fumed at their conduct, "It seems everyone here have stooped down to the level of a Neanderthal" she complained.

"What did you say-!?"

"Say that again! I dare you-!"

"Yukinon please!"

"ENOUGH!"

Everyone was silenced after hearing this loud outburst from Hikigaya Hachiman.

He now had everyone's attention back on him and now he would have to commandeer his troops into this losing battle.

"Don't you see this is what she wants" Hikigaya pointed at the smiling form of Haruno who had simply taken a back seat to enjoy this ludicrous drama for all its entertainment value, "This is all her doing. She is manipulating us into fighting each other."

"That's not exactly true Hikigaya-kun" Haruno pointed out, "They barely needed my help to start this little show" she gave a bright smile before encouraging all the other girls in the club room, "C'mon girls. Fight it out! An all out catfight between four beautiful girls will surely go viral on YouTube" she turned to Hikigaya and gave him a playful wink, "Don't you think so Hikigaya kun~" she sang loftily and Hikigaya shuddered at the knowledge of her unspoken power.

Hikigaya ignored her and focused all his attention on the girls who were minutes away from getting violent on each other, "You heard her, right!?" he began slowly, "She is just doing this for her own amusement. But you guys don't need to do this! Believe me! You don't have to do this!" he pleaded with them before his rotten brain provided a very pleasing solution, "In fact there is a much better alternative within your grasps. Do you want to hear it out?" he asked simply.

"What is it?" Yukinoshita asked eagerly.

Hikigaya gave a rotten smirk before pointing back to Haruno, "You all can fight together!" he declared passionately, "Think about it for a second. In a one on one fight, none of you stand a chance against her but if all four of you combine your strength and surround her, then there might be a chance"

Yuigahama looked worried, "Isn't that a bit too much?" she asked.

"Yeah!" Kawasaki agreed with her, "If all four of us attack her then won't she be dead" but then a ferocious glint crossed her eyes, "But then again, killing her would feel great."

Miura nodded her head, "I never thought I would say this but I actually agree with her"

Now everyone in the room turned to Yukinoshita.

After all they were, hypothetically, planning to kill her elder sister. Upon finding herself the object of everyone's scrutiny, Yukinoshita turned to Hikigaya and said solemnly, "Won't you be joining us in the fight?"

Hikigaya shook his head, "My mother told me to never fight a woman" he said plainly.

"How chivalrous of you Hikigaya kun" Haruno mocked.

Hikigaya turned to face her and his female furies were right behind him.

"Last chance Yukinoshita-san" Hikigaya said boldly, "Take down that video and never show your face to any of us ever again."

Yukinoshita Haruno took careful note of his words before giving a small sigh, "Okay then" she said in a small voice, "I give up"

Hikigaya couldn't believe his ears, "Really?" he asked her again just for confirmation.

"Really" Haruno repeated.

Everyone saw her getting up and moving towards the door of the service club but then she surprised everyone of them by doing the unthinkable…she bolted the door shut from the inside.

"Nee-san what are you doing?" Yukinoshita asked with a slightly worried voice.

"Why Yukino-chan didn't you just hear what I said" Haruno was now moving towards the windows of the service club and shutting them close and pulling down the curtains, "You beat me fair and square… well not quite fair but it's the thought that counts" she gave a predatory smile which made everyone shiver in dread, "And you know what they say about getting beat don't you, Yukino-chan?"

"Um, Haruno-san, what do they say about getting beat?" Yuigahama asked in curiosity.

"Glad you asked Gahama san" Haruno said glibly before giving everyone in the room a hungry look "They say if you can't beat them, then join them"

Miura inched closer to Hikigaya, "You are making no sense" she turned to Hikigaya, "What is she saying Hikio?" she asked, now feeling scared.

"I don't know" Hikigaya was also sounding afraid.

"Hey bitch stop fooling around!" Kawasaki said with false bravado, "Ya either explain what ya doing or ya just get lost, ya hear me?"

Haruno inched closer to them and all five of them took a collective step back, "I can't beat you so I will join you" she repeated herself before giving an evil chuckle, "You know Yukino-chan I have a confession to make."

"C-confession?" Yukinoshita asked feeling very scared.

"Yes. A confession" Haruno said before giving everyone of them her largest smile, "You see Yukino-chan" her voice was conspiratorially low, "I'm bisexual" she said proudly, "And I'm just about horny enough to enjoy a fivesome"

A terrifying silence fell across the service club.

"Um, Haruno-san there are six of us" Yuigahama said awkwardly with the reddest blush spreading across her cheeks.

"Well, Gahama-chan, what do you expect? I can't possibly have sex with my little sister now, can I? That will be incestuous!" Haruno gave Yukino her cruellest smile, "It seems you lost again Yukino-chan"

Everybody was starting to panic and Haruno was not making this easy.

Finally Hikigaya did the bravest thing possible and surrendered himself to her like he originally intended.

"You can have me Yukinoshita san" Hikigaya sighed in defeat, "I don't want to prolong the inevitable anymore"

"Well, you certainly came to your senses Hikigaya kun~" Haruno said proudly, "But let it never be said that Yukinoshita Haruno doesn't show mercy" she gave him a compassion filled smile, "You can have a moment to say your last words to these girls before I take you way" she stated firmly.

Hikigaya nodded his head, "Thank you" he said honestly before turning to the girls, "Well I just wanted to say that all four of you did your best but this was bound to happen…And also…" his throat felt dry before voicing his last words, "…I love…"

All the girls had his undivided attention and were just holding their breath for him to utter one of their names at this penultimate moment, "…I love Komachi…just tell her that for me, alright"

"You can count on us Hikki!" …And just like that Yuigahama lied for all of them because none of the girls would be telling anything that happened today to another living soul.

Haruno coughed to hide her laugh, "Well then Hikigaya kun we better get going." She said cheerfully, "It is a long way after all."

"Alright then" Hikigaya resigned to his fate.

…And then a large gong sounded. It was the school bell but at this moment it sounded like a death knell. This ominous gong spoke of death and …divine retribution.

"Knock. Knock." and unearthly voice kicked upon the service club door and everyone found themselves facing a scorned spirit set out for revenge against all mankind.

"Hi-ki-ga-ya Ha-ch-im-an~" this ominous embodiment of fury and rage entered the club room with wide strides and her eyes were full of bloodlust. Anyone who tried to get in her way would surely be killed.

"S-s-shizuka-chan" Even Haruno was stuttering. How was that even possible? "W-what a coincidence. I was just leaving" She quickly took hold of Hikigaya and began dragging him away, "Come now Hikigaya kun. S-s-shizuka-chan might have some important matters to discuss with your club mates. We have to hurry! Go! Go! Go!"

"Ha-ru-no", Now this was beyond terrifying and how was this even possible? Yukinoshita Haruno was shaking in terror, "Hi-ki-ga-ya, stays…" her voice was deafeningly low.

Haruno tried to put on a brave front, "But Shizuka-chan-" However her protests were cut off by a dainty finger, seemingly powerless yet possible more powerful than even our wildest imaginations. This small finger, which had hooked itself beneath her chin, was making her look into the eyes of an awoken goddess, "Remember Haruno" her voice sounded unworldly, "Second year. Infirmary. On top" Each word was spoken with an unspoken significance and sounded secretively scandalous.

"I-I…" Haruno was flustered and her cheeks were coloured a violent shade of red.

"Leave!" This goddess commanded.

"Yes! Yes! Right away" For the first time anyone saw Yukinoshita Haruno run away in such a cowardly manner. This just proved his previous theory that his homeroom teacher, Hiratsuka Shizuka was a force of nature, not to be trifled with in any manner.

Hikigaya stood awkwardly before Shizuka and he waited patiently to meet his timely demise.

"You four!" Shizuka was speaking to the girls in the club room who were watching this situation unfold with stark terror in their eyes, "You heard nothing. Got it!"

"Un-understood sensei" Yukino replied.

"Y-yeah" Yuigahama said

"Yup!" Kawasaki answered.

"Yes!" Miura responded.

Hiratsuka Shizuka didn't even turn around. She just gave a slight nod and all the girls scampered off far away from this corridor as humanly possible.

Hikigaya saw them running away and realised he wouldn't be that lucky, "So what will happen to me sensei?"

Shizuka turned on him in an unnatural manner and a loud snap could be heard from her neck, "You! You! You!" she glowered and stomped closer to him and Hikigaya shrank back, "You, will be giving me a full body massage."

Hikigaya blinked, "…Excuse me?"

"You heard me Hikigaya" Shizuka said furiously, "You skipped off on my foot rub just when it was getting good." she gave his a death glare which made him almost piss his pants, "But you won't be lucky this time" she stated venomously, "I want a foot rub, a back rub and anything else I can think of that will make me feel comfortable, you got that?"

Hikigaya nodded his head, "Yeah, I got it."

Shizuka gave him a heated look, "Good" she said while trying to hide a small blush, "Now come with me, we have a long evening ahead of us Hikigaya and I will demand your full attention"

"You got it sensei" Hikigaya repeated.

…and with that the student and teacher duo left the school building, in what could have been one of the most interesting days of his high school life.

…But then again youth was a lie.

/

The end?

/

A/N:

Wow, this chapter was super big (3000 + words) and I have to say this chapter had the feel of 'Artificially Sound', hence the misleading title of this chapter

So, how was it? Was it good? Was it bad?

I gave it my full effort (Like I said this had the vibe of 'Artificially Sound')

So, leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams

/

P.S- Read Shizuka's entrance while imagining the Undertaker's entrance. You will laugh your ass off.


	20. Scene 20 Rendezvous

Don't Own Oregairu

Scene#20: Rendezvous

Characters: Yukino/Zaimokuza

Genre: Friendship/Romance

"Zaimokuza san I apologize for the actions of my elder sister. Please find it in your heart to forgive me."

"Oh nonsense m'lady! There is nothing to forgive. Everything is already forgotten fufufu~"

Zaimokuza Yoshiteru was repeating himself multiple times to a rather depressed looking Yukinoshita Yukino. She had come searching for him in the library and upon finding him and interrogating the truth out of him about what her elder sister did to him, she had done nothing but apologize to him over and over again and now he was feeling slightly uncomfortable.

"Lady Yukinoshita, I don't see how any of this is your fault" Zaimokuza pleaded, "Whatever cruelties your elder sister inflicted upon me were solely by her design and they were carried out with swift vengeance in retaliation of some action by my fellow comrade in arms" Zaimokuza thought about this for a moment, "If I may be so bold as to ask, could Lady Yukinoshita inform me about the whereabouts of Sir Hachiman" Zaimokuza shuddered while remembering the mistress of evil, "I fear for his chastity"

Yukinoshita gave him an understanding look, "You don't have to worry Zaimokuza san" she said plainly, "Your friend was saved right in the nick of time by Hiratsuka sensei of all people. Right now he is in her care"

Zaimokuza smiled in relief, "Ah, so the old maid finally rescued the dark knight" he nodded his head over some illogical reason, "How quaint."

Yukinoshita blushed at the implication, "Zaimokuza san, it's not nice to spread rumours" she scolded him, "Hiratsuka sensei was simply doing her job in safeguarding the interest of one of her students."

Zaimokuza obliged her to live in her fantasy, "As you wish but I don't feel sorry for the poor soul" he said with a mournful look in his eyes, "Whatever may have been his follies, Sir Hachiman never did deserve a life time of servitude"

Yukinoshita scowled, "It's nothing of the sort" she repeated, "At least sensei will keep him safe from my sister" then her blue eyes looked slightly heavy, "I wish she was dead!" she said almost silently

"Don't say such thoughtless words m'lady!" Zaimokuza blurted out abruptly, "You never know when such dreadful wishes might come true" he replied darkly.

Yukinoshita gave him a suspicious look, "How could you say that even after she hurt you like this, Zaimokuza-san?" she asked, "You should be hating her!"

Zaimokuza sighed, "I find it rather redundant to hate someone you fear" he replied solemnly, "Rest assured I will not be crossing paths with her ever again unless she warrants my full and devoted attention"

Yukinoshita cleared her throat, "It won't come to that" she said clearly, "I have decided to settle my problems with my sister back at home" she gave him a depressed look, "I have involved too many people as it is and I don't want to risk any more people now that I know what she is truly capable of"

Zaimokusa sighed gravely, "As you wish m'lady" he agreed with her, "But know this, you will always have a willing comrade by your side in this uphill battle"

Yukinoshita blinked before she finally understood his words, "Zaimokuza san" she spoke unsurely, "Are you saying I can consider you a friend?" she asked tentatively.

Zaimokuza blushed, "Forgive me if I spoke out of bounds m'lady" he apologized while giving a deep bow, "This unworthy one is unsuitable for your acquaintance."

"I will have to correct you again Zaimokusa san" Yukinoshita smiled genuinely, "In fact it would be my pleasure to have you as an acquaintance"

Zaimokuza couldn't believe his ears, "Do you speak the truth Lady Yukinoshita?" he asked uncertainly.

"Of course I do!" Yukinoshita replied confidently

Zaimokuza gave her a bright smile, "Then if you wish this m'lady, then I can rendezvous with you in your fortress, from time to time, to discuss the matters pertaining to my craft"

Yukinoshita nodded her head in amusement, "You have my permission" she said with a faint smile.

…and thus a peculiar bond of friendship was born.

/

A/N:

Thank you so much everybody for all your love and support and ideas.

It's because of you guys that this story crossed 200 reviews…

Now I know what you're thinking…where is 8man?

Don't worry he will be back… and there will be masseur action…lots of massaging…probably in the next chapter.

Till then, hope you enjoyed reading this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams


	21. Scene 21 Kawasaki Household

Don't Own Oregairu

Scene#21: Kawasaki Household.

Characters: Taishi/Saki

Genre: Family/Romance

"Taishi I'm home"

"Ah Onee-san! Welcome back!"

Taishi greeted his elder sister, Saki, back inside their humble household. He was waiting for her to return early today since she was not currently employed in any part time job and was making better use of her time by spending it with her siblings. Secretly he was glad because like any good brother he didn't like her older sister staying out too late and inadvertently attracting way too many unsavoury elements courtesy of her natural beauty. However he would never say this to her face because it would be far too embarrassing.

"Shit!" Saki cursed.

"Language!" Taishi scolded.

Saki blushed but quickly cleared the red in her cheeks with a cough, "I forgot to pick up Kieka from the nursery after all the drama that happened in the service club today!" she exclaimed loudly, "I'm such a horrible sister!" she lamented.

Taishi sighed. Komachi had told him something bad was going down in the service club but he had no idea what but if that made his elder sister forget about their youngest sibling then whatever happened must have been very serious. However Tashi saw that Saki was mostly unharmed so he relaxed and told her to do the same, "Relax a little onee-san. I already picked up Keika chan from the nursery" he said with a smile, cleverly omitting to mention it was onii san who gave him the idea to do it in the first place, "You don't have to worry about a thing!"

Saki gave him a proud smile and her eyes became watery, "Taishi you're growing up so quickly" she sighed in nostalgia, "I remember the time I used to pick you up from the nursery" she looked at him with a wistful smile, "It still feels like yesterday, y'know" then her eyes grew dark, "But soon you will marry and move away leaving me forever!" now she was really making him feel worse.

Taishi tried to comfort her, "Onee san you are thinking way too much" he said, "Besides that won't be happening anytime soon"

Saki nodded her head, "Yeah you're right!" she said with a small smile, "Ya atleast have to grow taller than me first" she joked playfully.

Taishi huffed, "Not funny Onee-san!" he said with a mock glare, "Besides I'm still growing. In a year or two I will be taller than you. Believe it!"

Taishi waited for a moment…then another.

"That was a Naruto reference, you know?" he said sadly to her elder sister.

"Like that's really important" Saki scoffed, "I'm telling you Taishi yer spending way too much time with that lazy bum. I understand ya trying to be in his good books for his little sister but you're trying way too hard" she gave him a knowing look, "He doesn't like that…believe it!" Saki also put the reference to good use.

Taishi smiled. Out of some unspoken rule they never referred to the Hikigayas' by name inside their house because whenever someone spoke a little too much about them the other one would start blushing and that would make the entire conversation awkward. And none of them wanted to make things awkward for the other.

"Anyway, onee-san" Taishi tried to change the topic, "Since you used that reference correctly, you will get a reward."

Saki quirked an eyebrow, "Really?" she asked.

"Yeah" Taishi said enthusiastically, "I already drew you a hot bath and also reheated some food from yesterday's leftovers."

Saki looked at Taishi like he had just saved the entire world, "Yer a lifesaver Taishi!" she said while engulfing him in a strong hug, "Anyone would be lucky to have you!"

"…Can't breathe" Taishi croaked.

"Oh, sorry about that" Saki stopped hugging him before heading towards another corridor in the back, "I will bathe first alright, and call Keika down from my room. She needs to eat too"

"Ok" Taishi said.

After awhile everything was prepared.

Taishi had set the table and Saki had taken her bath.

All that was left was to sit down and eat like a proper family

…except…they were not a proper family

"Onee-san why are you wearing a towel in the kitchen?" Taishi asked with an embarrassed look on his face.

"Relax Taishi!" Saki said calmly, "I was taking a bath like you said but after a good soak I got worried" she looked at him with doleful eyes, "What if you burned yourself while heating our food. I can't let that happen to my younger brother. I am not a horrible sister!" she exclaimed clutching the towel tightly to her breast.

"Onee san, don't worry" Taishi told her, "How can I burn myself while heating left overs?"

"…yer clumsy" Saki offered.

Taishi was flustered, "No I am not and please get dressed properly or you will catch a cold."

"Alright fine!" Saki agreed, "I will get dressed already. By the way where is Kieka? Is she still in my room?"

"No she is behind you" Taishi said simply

"Behind me?" Saki asked.

"K-chan is behind you!" Kieka greeted Saki with joy and then lunged at her from behind.

"Wait Keika don't! My towel-" Saki's words were uttered too late.

Keika had jumped on her with all her might and in trying to grab onto her Saki loosened her hold on her towel and due to this small skirmish her towel fell from her beautiful body, leaving her completely naked for both her siblings to see.

"Waah! Saa-chan is big" Kieka said with childlike innocence

Saki quickly covered herself but she was not able to cover the huge blush spreading across her cheeks, "I will have lunch in my room, ok?" she spoke to the wooden table in front of her not daring to turn around and look her brother in the eye.

"…ok" Taishi said in a faint voice.

Saki nodded her head and left.

A minute past…then another.

"Taa-chan the food is burning up!" Kieka shouted to the shell-shocked Taishi.

"Ah shit" he cursed trying in vain to save the food.

"Language!" Keika scolded her brother with a small smile like she had seen him scold their elder sister.

'My onee-san can't probably be this cute' Taishi thought while cooking.

/

A/N:

So, no massage chapter. Yet.

I am trying my best but I can't think of a way to make it any more interesting and different.

Till then, you guys have this Taishi x Saki chapter (Really there are Hikom fanfic but not Saktash fanfic! Well now there is one)

Hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter

Leave lots and lots of review, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams


	22. Chapter 22 Inside the box

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 22: Inside the Box

Hikigaya Komachi was leafing through a new fashion magazine, which she had acquired from one of her club mates, while softly humming a bubbly pop song, slightly off key, all by her lonesome in the Hikigaya residence.

To mostly everyone, she would seem the proper picture of relaxed and calm, but to an absent pair of rotten dead fish eyes, she would seem anything but… and right on the brink of a nervous breakdown.

Many people simply assumed only Hikigaya Hachiman was brilliant in hiding his worries and anxieties behind a mask of aloofness and indifference but they never paid much attention to the forever cheerful, Hikigaya Komachi, who also had her shares of worries and troubles and right at this very moment, all her troubles could have been traced back to only one person who was none other than her older brother, Hikigaya Hachiman.

"Stupid Gomi-chan", Komachi groused to herself while violently flicking a few pages of her magazine without even bothering to read, "Staying out this late! Making Komachi worry!" she said to herself before bouncing off from the living room sofa.

Komachi had been waiting for her brother to arrive after finishing his service club duties but due to certain… unforeseeable circumstances… he had been held back. However she already knew what these circumstances were by the fear and terror reflected back from his dead fish eyes at that moment of crisis. Yet even then he had thought about her…well not only her.

"Stupid, Stupid Gomi-chan!" Komachi whined to the invisible air, "You could have come along with me and Saika-chan and Taishi kun but noo! You decided to stay back to confront Harunee-chan." Komachi sighed, "You acted like such a Hachiman…" her voice trailed off in worry over the absence of her brother who had yet to return.

"Onii-chan please!" Komachi prayed reverently, "Come back home." Her voice sounded weak by the very effort, "Your Komachi misses you!"

Sadly her prayers were answered only after a gruelling wait of a couple of hours.

Komachi was worried about her brother but she also had to prepare dinner for them and she knew that it was very dangerous to cook when she was being this absentminded over circumstances, over which she had no control. So she took a deep breath, gave herself a small pep-talk and began the usual process of making a simple curry along with a few other healthy dishes.

"Onii-chan" she spoke to herself while adding the needed ingredients into her dish, "I am preparing all the dishes you love." She looked at the clock which was ominously inching towards late evening, "Please come back safe." She wiped away a stray tear which she blamed on the onion, "Poor Komachi is miserable without you!"

Darkness of the evening was slowly descending upon her and to protect herself from getting consumed by this pitch blackness of her worries, Komachi lit a light and returned to her cooking. She was not humming to herself anymore only going through the actions in a mechanical manner while mentally she repeated the same mantra over and over again: "Please be safe! Please be safe!"

After Komachi had cooked over four of his favourite dishes and after she had finished leafing through at least a dozen fashion magazines, she decided to take control of the remote to browse over fifty channels on the television. But time was running out and she was getting fidgety with tension.

"He's not back yet! He's not back yet" the same annoying voice ran through her head and she tried to block it out by increasing the volume of her television. This was beginning to feel very much like that time when he was involved in that accident and even today a couple of the same individuals, namely, the Yukinoshita sisters and Yui were also involved in the skirmish that had taken place in the service club which her brother had forcibly stopped her from getting involved, going out of his way to ask Totsuka Saika and Taishi Kawasaki, of all people, to keep her safe. This was not good! Not good at all!

Komachi eyed the telephone in dread. She could not go through with this again. Not again!

She clutched her head with both her arms to stop herself from reliving those dreadful moments and it was at this moment of crisis that she heard the faintest click of the main entrance door and after waiting for him for such a long time, after worrying herself to death, Komachi found it in herself to smile. Yet she had to make sure. This had to be him. This had to be him!

"Onii-chan?" she asked while rubbing her eyes, "Are you back?"

"…Yeah Komachi" she heard him say those words in a barely audible wishper, "I am back"

Komachi looked at him while he untied his shoes and seeing him like this, standing before her, safe and sound and not lying in a hospital somewhere made her feel extremely happy and without thinking too much she lunged towards him to engulf him in a strong hug.

"Ouch, Komachi!" Hachiman winced and took a single step back but he did not try to pry her off from his waist, "Did something happen Komachi? Are you alright?" he asked with fresh worry in his voice.

Komachi shook her head while still hugging his waist, "Komachi is fine, Onii-chan" she said in a very small voice, "I just missed you" then she stretched her lips into a big smile and looked up, to stare into his dead fish eyes, "Kya~ That scored a ton of points!" she said in a giggly voice to hide her previous worries.

Hachiman looked at her smile and then gently thumbed a stray tear from her eyes, "Yeah you won a ton of points Komachi" he said in a faint voice, "You're the best little sister any brother can hope for"

Komachi blushed upon hearing her brother say such kind words to her with such genuine feelings. At times she really wondered why no one else saw him for the kind and gentle person that he truly was, but then again she had nothing to complain, because that just meant, she would have him for herself for a few more years.

"Komachi, you can let go off me now" Hachiman told her gently, "I am not going anywhere anytime soon, you know?"

Komachi gave a small nod and then untangled herself from their refreshing hug… before lightly punching Hachiman in the arm.

"Ow!" he winced, "What was that for?" he asked

Komachi turned her head sideways and pouted, "For being such a Hachiman you gomi-chan!" she said in a small voice, "Komachi was thinking you…you…" she cut herself off from saying those dreadful words out loud before giving her elder brother a cute glare, "Where were you Onii-chan?"

Hachiman averted his eyes and blushed slightly at the recent memories of what transpired in a certain apartment before giving a small cough, "Shizuka-sensei held me back for awhile" he said awkwardly, trying not to give too much away, "She wanted me to do something for her" he said in a slightly restrained voice.

Komachi listened to him for a moment before her eyes enlarged in amazement, "Onii-chan, since when do you start calling sensei by her first name?" she asked with a curious and devious smile, "What happened between you two? Komachi wants to know! Komachi wants to know now!" she pleaded with him with over exaggerated enthusiasm.

Hachiman blushed at the implication, "Nothing happened Komachi!" he lied carefully, "And my tongue just slipped…" he winced at his poor choice of words remembering a certain incident where his hands had slipped and touched…never mind, "…my tongue just slipped, that's all. We are not on a first name basis or anything?"

Komachi looked at him with suspicion, "I don't believe you onii-chan. You don't make slip ups" she said confidently, "Something must have happened?"

Hachiman was tired and exhausted and his brain was not functioning well but he could never be mean to her sister, "It's was an honest slip up Komachi" he repeated, "It happened while massaging-"

"What?"

"-I mean it happened while messaging, you know…texting and what not" Hachiman gave it another try but that made him appear more guilty than usual.

"You text Hiratsuka sensei" Komachi gasped, "Komachi is so proud of you onii-chan~"

Hikigaya sighed, "Komachi it isn't like that." he told her again, "Now can I come in. I am really tired after dealing with…" no he won't be repeating their names again, not even in his mind, "…stuff…" he supplied halfheartedly, "…and I just wanna go up into my room and sleep it off"

Komachi pouted, "You are sounding more and more like a drunk onii-chan" she said simply, "But Komachi will forgive you"

"Um, thanks" Hachiman said uncertainly.

"But~" Komachi sang, "You can go to bed after you have a warm bath and a healthy dinner"

"I don't wanna" Hachiman whined.

"Not even if I made that dinner for you onii-chan" she said in a cutesy voice, "I made everything you like, you know" she said, "Aren't you even going to taste them"

Hachiman's mouth watered and now he could smell the aroma of the food wafting from the kitchen, "Mm, smells delicious" he murmured.

"They taste delicious too onii-chan" Komachi said proud of her culinary skills, "Now go take a bath onii-chan and freshen up. The food will be there when you are out and if you still don't want to eat your poor Komachi's food, then…" she looked at him with such affectionate eyes, "…I will understand"

Hachiman loved his sister and this just proved it, "You are truly the best Komachi" he repeated, "I will take a bath and then go to bed"

…And saying that Hachiman began to walk inside their home but he was stopped by a gentle tug on his sleeve.

"Aren't you forgetting something, onii-chan" Komachi said with a sly smile.

"…I don't think so" Hachiman said with a slight worry.

"…silly onii-chan, come here!"

"What are you doing?!"

Komachi tugged Hachiman down to her level and then gently placed a soft kiss on his forehead. Both of them were blushing slightly but they held one another's gaze.

"When you didn't come back I thought you were caught in another accident" Komachi said in a breathy whisper, "Komachi was scared …"she whimpered slightly while her fingers kept running a smooth circle over the kissed skin of his forehead.

Hachiman sighed and took a hold of her hand and gave it a small squeeze, "Sorry for scaring you my dear imouto" he kissed her forehead and gently wiped another stray tear from her eyes, "It won't happen again"

…And with that a brother and a sister embraced and found solace in a small bubble of affection

/

A/N:

I am so scared! So very scared!

This chapter is big (1922 words approx) but I am still so scared!

The last two chapters got the fewest reviews and I don't know why. So I didn't want to make any more mistakes and so I am giving you guys the option on what you guys want to read next.

Here are the options:

Option one: Komachi gives Hachiman a massage

Option two: Hachiman gives Komachi a massage.

Please pick one.

Hope, everyone enjoyed reading this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams

/


	23. Chapter 23 Love you Onii-chan

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 23: Love you Onii-chan!

Hikigaya Hachiman was lying in his bed and trying in vain to sleep. He had a warm bath, he had an excellent dinner and finally he had a pleasant time with his cute little sister, Komachi.

But like always he was having trouble sleeping due to a guilty conscience.

He had worried his little sister, made her anxious and restless over his well-being while he was busy providing comfort to another woman and in his mind this was tantamount to a horrific sin!

'I'm a horrible older brother!' he thought while burying his head in the pillow.

Komachi was the cutest sister anyone could wish for… not that they would be getting her any day soon. He had a fool proof plan of sabotaging any and all attempts made by any guy to try and woo his sister.

'They would never find his body' he thought with a malicious grin.

Komachi was …Komachi.

She was sacred, sweet and lovable.

She looked out for him, prepared all his favourite dishes, packed his bento and occasionally drew him a warm bathe.

'Komachi is perfect' he thought with a wistful smile.

'My sweet little Komachi' Hachiman sighed, breathing in the musty smell of his bedroom.

His rotten dead fish eyes stared at the door which led to the corridor and after a few steps would lead to her bedroom.

'Always working so hard! Staying up so late!' he looked at the clock and tried in vain to suppress a yawn before rolling over in his bed.

After returning home from a gruelling and tortuous day in high school which involved a confrontation with Haruno followed by a…tutoring session…with Shizuka…Yes, he was calling her by her first name…at least in his mind.

'Don't judge me!' he thought bitterly, 'I was a victim of circumstances and…unbalanced hormones and what did Shizuka say…hmmm she called it an excessive form of petting. Well in hindsight…it can be called that…but that would be a gross understatement' Hachiman blushed at his own thoughts.

He could never forget this day for the rest of his life and once again he was saved by one of his 108 loner skills and he was mighty proud of that fact

…but now he was feeling miserable and unworthy.

'You are such an asshole Hachiman!' He cursed while silently punching his pillow, 'While you were helping Shizuka relax your own flesh and blood was worrying herself sick by relentlessly toiling in the kitchen' Hachiman sat up straight on his bed and scowled on a worn piece of drywall in his room, 'What have you ever done for Komachi?' he asked himself, 'When she was young you used to take care of her but nowadays you have been shirking your responsibilities and failing to complete those duties of an older brother' he frowned at a small mosquito which was disturbing his contemplation, "And due to your own laziness, insects like that…that…Kawasaki's bratty brother have started bugging your dear sister!"

Hachiman stood up from his bed in one fluid movement and started pacing in his room, 'No! No! No! Komachi deserves someone far better than bug boy. I mean compared to him even Hayama-' Hachiman slapped himself at even having these thoughts, 'Get your head straight Hachiman! What were you thinking?' He took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself and get rid of these disturbing thoughts, 'Hayama' he scoffed.

During his…session… with Shizuka, she had told him, how he was taken to an infirmary in a near catatonic state. He was burbling some riddle and kept repeating the word 'Y' over and over again.

Once again it was proven that Yukinoshita Haruno was not a force to be trifled with…on the other hand he wouldn't take his chance with Shizuka as well…after today he had a new clarity about everything which happened in this world and this clarity helped him to take a very swift decision.

'After everything Komachi has done for me today I have to do something for her in return' he thought while nodding his head, '…maybe I should help her with her studies'

After a moment Hachiman realised that this idea held merit so without further complicating things he went out of his room and took a couple of steps down the corridor before nonchalantly finding himself standing before the sacred bedroom of his angelic little sister Komachi.

Hachiman knocked gently, "Komachi, can I come in?" he asked in a soft voice.

He tapped his feet and waited for over five minutes but after there was no answer from behind the door he gently turned the doorknob and took a bold step inside these hallowed grounds.

Hachiman took a deep breath and opened his rotten dead fish eyes. 'Yes' he thought reverently, 'this is the room of a proper girl' he nodded his head on his very own biased assessment.

Hachiman took a look around but he didn't try to touch any of her belongings. But now he was getting worried.

Her bed was undisturbed, her books were lying open on her study desk and the table lamp was on… 'Was Komachi kidnapped?' he thought gravely, 'No! No! No! …Haruno!' His mind was bombarding him with disturbing images of his sweet little sister in mortal peril while a sinister Yukinoshita Haruno took her revenge over him by lowering Komachi into a vat of boiling acid while cruelly laughing at his miserable plight on not being able to save her in time.

"Onii-chan" a soft voice enquired from behind him, "What are you doing in my room?"

Hachiman recognised her voice instantly and turned around to give Komachi a huge hug for retrieving him from his worst nightmares but what he saw before his rotten dead fish eyes made him do a double take.

Komachi was standing before him, wrapped in a fluffy pink towel, her short hair was completely wet and sticking behind her nape and small rivulets of water was dripping from her flushed cheeks, flowing down the hollow of her neck and slowly vanishing under the valley of her small breasts. Her chaste modesty was hidden behind a small towel but her calves and legs were open for his distant scrutiny.

Komachi blushed and averted her eyes, "Onii-chan what are you doing in my room?" she asked again, "Shouldn't you be sleeping? Its way past your bed time, you know"

Hachiman snorted despite this awkward situation, "Shouldn't I be saying that to you Komachi" he retorted playfully, "A young girl like you needs their beauty sleep, you know"

Komachi giggled while clutching her towel tightly to her breast, "Don't worry Onii-chan. Your Komachi is already beautiful" she stated proudly with a small huff before her shoulders slightly sagged in an afterthought, "…maybe not like your club mates but still…"she trailed off in uncertainty.

"Nonsense Komachi!" Hachiman said firmly, "In my eyes you are the best, the most beautiful, the prettiest…" then his eyes drooped downwards in self loathing, "…although my eyes are like that of a rotten dead fish…" he mumbled in a small voice.

"No they are not Onii-chan" Komachi said with certainty before slowly moving towards him by taking a few steady steps, "Your eyes are…ok, I guess" she said with an awkward laugh.

Hachiman snorted, "Always admire your honesty Komachi" he said with a bit of humour.

Komachi winked, "Don't mention it Onii-chan~" she said with a smile, "Now, will you tell me why you are in my room, hmm?"

Hachiman pointed at her books, "I thought I could help you out a little with your homework" he said casually, "You always say that you need my help in finishing your language papers…so here I am… to offer you my services"

Komachi sighed, "You made that sound so creepy Onii-chan!" she said, "But I would appreciate the help…except I already finished all my homework, so…um, better luck next time" she offered light heartedly.

Hachiman nodded his head in understanding, "Well then I better head back to bed" he said with a very private smile which none of his school mates ever saw, "Goodnight Komachi"

"Goodnight Onii chan!" Komachi said happily.

Hachiman was almost out of his room when he heard a small whimper of pain reach his ears and he swiftly turned his head around to look at his dear sister with worry etched over his entire face.

"Ouch!" Komachi winced

"Komachi, what's wrong?" Hachiman asked worriedly

Komachi blushed while straightening her towel, "Nothing Onii-chan…" she said with a slight wince in her smile, "…just for some reason my back hurts" she said indifferently before accusingly looking at her study desk "Maybe it's because of this stupid chair!" she gently kicked the chair with her feet and winced again, "Ow! Stupid chair! Break already!"

Hachiman re-entered into her room, "That's to be expected Komachi after studying for so long on this chair" he looked at the chair with unbridled hatred, "Evil chair" he cursed.

Komachi tucked away a loose strand of her wet hair, "I thought I would get a bit of relief by taking a warm bath but that didn't help much" she sighed, "Now I won't be able to sleep because of my aching back" she looked forlorn, "I feel like such an old lady sometimes"

Hachiman had heard that particular phrase a few hours ago from his violent homeroom teacher and just like that his rotten brain came up with a proper solution to Komachi's back trouble.

After a lot of thinking, there was finally something he could do for his little sister…he could provide her comfort.

"Komachi did you properly dry yourself?" he asked, "I don't want you catching a cold"

"No worries Onii chan~" Komachi sang cheerfully, "Komachi is almost dry. Just need a few more minutes to dry my hair, that's all"

Hachiman nodded his head, "Good, you do that Komachi" he said, "Your onii chan will be right back in a moment."

Komachi cocked her head in curiosity, "Where are you going Onii-chan?" she asked

Hachiman gave a secretive smile, "In search of a cure" he said with a small sense of humour, "Do me a favour and keep wearing this towel"

Within a few moments Hachiman was back and Komachi was almost done drying herself. Komachi had somewhat followed her brother's wishes. Instead of keeping herself wrapped in a soaked towel, she had decided to cover herself in a fresher one.

"Good thinking Komachi" Hachiman said absentmindedly, "I should have told you to wear a different and drier towel before I left your room. My mistake" he apologized half-heartedly

"Onii chan, Komachi is not an airhead, you know" she said with a cute pout, "I have more common sense than you think. Of course I would have changed towels!"

Hachiman rolled his eyes, "I never expected anything less from you my dear sister" he said sweetly, "Now get up into your bed and lie down on your stomach"

Komachi rolled her eyes, "That's not a very nice way to sleep, you know" she said, "Moreover it would worsen my back pains then they already are"

Hachiman gave her a bland look, "Who said anything about falling asleep Komachi?" he asked simply, "Believe me, when I am done, you will be in a state of bliss and fall asleep on your own accord"

Komachi blushed when her mind drifted into certain mischievous and forbidden territories. Her brother always had a way with words which resulted in many embarrassing situations and wrong implications. This was probably one of them.

"What do you plan on doing Onii-chan?" she asked in a shy voice.

Hachiman stood proud before her and produced a small bottle from behind his back, "I am going to give you a back massage Komachi!" he said in a smooth voice, devoid of any amount of shame.

Komachi relaxed for only a moment before she straightened herself completely upon realising the entire concept of his idea, "Onii chan! You are going to give Komachi…" her voice was extremely low, "…A back rub"

Hachiman nodded his head, "Of course! It's a guaranteed way to relieve you of your pain, Komachi" he said, "Trust me"

Komachi gave a small nod, ""Alright then Onii-chan" she said, "Komachi trusts you"

Hachiman saw Komachi gently lie down on her stomach and he gracefully took his place right by her side on her small queen sized bed. He tucked a soft pillow below her head, "Are you comfortable Komachi?" he asked her in the smallest of whispers which sent shivers down her spine

"Y-yeah Onii-chan" she replied while hiding her blushing face his offered pillow.

"Good" Hachiman said, "Let your Onii-chan help you out, ok?"

"Ok"

Hachiman took a deep breath and began his mental preparations. He squeezed a generous amount of lotion in his palms and rubbed them together to form a thick lather of soft paste. "Are you ready Komachi?" he asked breathily

"…Yes" Komachi whimpered

Hachiman steadily began his proceedings by gently lowering her towel until they pooled around her hips in a pile of soft clothed warmth and modest comfort. Komachi allowed him to lower her covers without any complaints and on a fundamental level he was aware of her bare back, which was visible before his eyes and her exposed breasts, which were pressed over her bed sheets and hidden from his gaze.

Hachiman shook his head to distant himself from these rotten thoughts and focuses his mind on this task at hand.

He squeezed a healthy amount of lotion directly onto her back and Komachi gasped.

"Hyya~" Komachi yelped in embarrassment upon experiencing a sticky substance spread across her lower back

"Sorry Komachi!" Hachiman apologized instantly, "It's just the lotion. It will help. I promise!"

Komachi nodded her head against her pillow and buried her face deeper into this soft cushion in embarrassment at producing such a lewd sound and further imagining such perverted outcomes.

Hachiman composed himself and started anew…once again.

He lowered his large hands below her lower back and gently applied pressure, waiting for a moment to gauge any unfavourable reaction. He was careful and alert, moving his palms, smoothly across the small of her back and gently tracing it upwards in a leisurely manner.

Komachi gave a wheezy gasp at his meticulous ministration over her lower back. "Umm~", however this pillow stopped her from giving an audible moan in pleasure at her brother's touch.

She would try her best to overcome such a scandalous outcome and hence she buried herself deeper into this pillow without even caring of suffocating to death.

Komachi closed her eyes and basked in utter pleasure from his skilled hands, "Mmh~" After a warm shower, his hands felt clammy but courtesy of this lotion she was experiencing a wet and tingly sensation all across her body which was not necessarily a bad thing, according to her sweet, innocent judgement.

Unbeknownst to her sister's inner turmoil Hachiman carried on his efficient massage and laboured through with practiced hands. "Huuh~~"His sensitive ears picked up her sister's soft, tender gasps, but as expected, gradually her moans were turning into lethargic sighs of relief, "Aa~"

Hachiman grinned to himself and carried on, fulfilling his unorthodox, brotherly duties.

He smoothened her overly tensed shoulder blades by casual strokes from his slender fingers before softening those bundles of tension down her sinew spine. Komachi involuntarily arched upwards, slightly at his touch but within an instant she was lying flat on her stomach again and hiding her blushing cheeks.

Komachi felt a growing warmth settle below her navel. Her brother was fabulous!

Hachiman methodically carried out his massage in a rhythmic fashion. His clammy hands were now warm by this exchange of heat which was eventually generated by constantly rubbing his palms, up and down her back.

As expected, Komachi relaxed visibly before his own eyes and drew a comforting breath through her nose. "uum~" Her pains were dissolving into nothingness by every swirl and twirl from his lithe fingers applying just enough pressure to ease away her tension.

Hachiman spread another cooling layer of lotion across her creamy skin and despite her previous intention of suppressing her voice, Komachi unintentionally let out a small squeal of delight, "Qii~~" Komachi smiled to herself and soaked in this feeling of relief deep within herself. She memorised Hachiman and his fingers, drawing small circular lines over her back before encompassing her entire skin into large ellipses of sensation, "Eeep!" Komachi blushed and turned sideways to look up at her brother and despite the darkness of her room she could see his face was flushed and precipitating. Watching his every action and reliving her every response, Komachi gave a small giggle, "Tehee!" and Hachiman gave an awkward laugh, "Hehe!"

Hachiman persistently worked through the prolonging minutes, switching between longer and smaller strokes, changing and interchanging certain patterns and eventually increasing and decreasing the pressure and force of his palm over her entire back, covering the entire surface in a healing balm of languishing comfort and stress relief.

Komachi felt drowsy, her eyelids grew heavy and her breathing was slowly becoming shallow, "mmm~" Hachiman took her changing body language into stride and began leaving feather light touches over every exposed skin. His fingers were barely touching her now but she was feeling his warmth soak through her every pore.

After a few more minutes Komachi found herself slowly drifting into the land of sleep and she heard her brother give an inaudible sigh of relief. As he promised her back pain was completely gone, as if it was never there to begin with. As expected her Onii-chan always fulfilled his every promise! 'Komachi is so lucky' she thought with a smile.

"Good night Komachi" Hachiman mumbled softly, trying his best not to wake her.

"Onii-chan wait!" Komachi mumbled sleepily, turning sideways to stop her brother from leaving, "Komachi wants a good night kiss" she said with a lovely pout.

Hachiman blushed, "Alright"

"Right here" Komachi pointed her finger on her flushed cheek, "On my cheek"

Hachiman nodded his head and while blushing, he lowered his lips to kiss her cheek and right at this moment when his lips were a breath away from her skin, Komachi turned again…and now her lips met his and completed their kiss.

Hachiman kept his eyes open while Komachi kept her eyes closed. A small chaste kiss on the lip between a brother and sister was not exactly unusual but it was not nearly a common place phenomenon.

Slowly Hachiman lifted himself up and broke this tender moment. The darkness of her room was unable to hide his blushing face

"I love you Onii-chan" Komachi said sleepily before turning around on her bed

"Love you too Komachi" Hachiman mumbled before exiting her room.

…Hachiman thought she might not have heard him…but as expected he was wrong…Komachi heard Hachiman say that he loved her too and it helped her fall asleep while an unexplainable happiness fogged her mind.

…Thus, a simple back massage brought two siblings closer than usual.

/

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to LyingHiki. Thanks for being such a good friend, buddy!

Now I have to explain myself. You see this chapter is late by two days and that's because it is over 3000 words (3283 approx). Now again I am giving you people the options on what you want to read next.

Here are the options:

Option one: Haruno gets his revenge on Hachiman (by sensually torturing him through massage)

Option two: Kawasaki gives Hachiman a full body massage

Please pick one.

Hope, everyone enjoyed reading this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams


	24. Chapter 24 Kawasaki's Request

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 24: Kawasaki's Request

Hikigaya Hachiman was busy reading another interesting chapter from his latest light novel, while his sensitive ears picked up the useless chatter of his classmates during their routine breaks in between different classes.

Like always, he was almost invisible among the various students, his presence was easily forgotten and he was in his natural elements, trying his best to remain inconspicuous without attracting any unwanted attention from any volatile individuals.

Even though his rotten dead fish eyes were scanning through the pages of his book, his other senses were acutely in tune to pick up even the smallest of disturbances and within a second he would be able to make his escape without gathering any unwanted attention. Quite casually he turned a page of his book and glanced sideways, spotting several of his usual exploiters, in one small sweep of his rotten dead fish gaze.

'Alright then! Here we go!' Hachiman added mentally before swiftly starting a small catalogue in his mind of every known variable, 'Miura is feigning interest over Hayama.' He saw her twirling her hair and giving a small laugh, 'She is bored'. He looked behind Miura and spotted his club mate, 'Yuigahama is being nice. Laughing at all the same old jokes' he added bitterly in his mind after a loud laugh from Tobe made him visibly wince in discomfort, 'She is bothered but trying her best to play her airhead part in their clique' he gave a mental snort at her over all awkwardness, 'How admirable' his eyes travelled past Yuigahama and met those of a bespectacled beauty. She gave him a creepy smile and a small wave, 'Damn Fujoshi!' Hachiman cursed.

Hachiman was wary of his surroundings today and his mind was constantly on high alert. After his Haruno debacle and Shizuka fiasco, which all took place yesterday, he was waiting for another calamity to strike any minute now but so far this had been a normal school day.

'I just want to live through lunch break' Hachiman silently wished to the cruel Romcom God, 'Komachi made me a special bento to thank me for helping her out yesterday with her back pain and all I want is to eat in a tranquil environment' he looked upwards at the ceiling, imagining he was glancing into the heavens, 'Is this really too much to ask?'

Unfortunately for him this was in fact a little too much to ask.

Like he said the Romcom God was a very cruel deity indeed.

Hachiman was at his usual spot during lunch break, overlooking the tennis court where another angel, namely his Totsuka, relentlessly practiced and honed his professional skills. In between chewing and swallowing his food, he silently cheered him on. 'Go Totsuka! Go!' he added mentally without taking his eyes away from his petite form, 'You stood upto the might of Yukinoshita Haruno and after that what does an amateur little tennis player hold in comparison? Nothing, I say!'

He had almost finished his bento when he felt a large looming shadow fall over him and taking his eye off his Totsuka he looked up at the intruder that had dared to ruin his moment. However when he saw that this intruder was none other than a certain blue haired, mistaken delinquent with an unstable brother complex, Hachiman instantly went on high alert

"Ya done eating" Kawasaki asked in greeting, "Or are ya busy ogling that teeny little pal of yours"

Hachiman gave a small cough to hide his embarrassment, "Greetings Kawasaki" he said, taking a small pride at finally getting her name right, "Tell me, what brings you here?"

Kawasaki raised an indignant eyebrow, "Yer not even gonna deny what I said." she asked blandly, "Wow, ya really have some issues, don't ya?"

Hachiman gave her an indifferent look, "I was watching the game" he said blandly, "Totsuka is winning"

Kawasaki didn't believe him, "What's the score?" she asked him in suspicion.

"30-Love" Hachiman replied instantly.

Upon hearing his reply Kawasaki felt her cheeks getting slightly red and she instantly lost her train of thought and began sprouting complete nonsense pertaining to her own unspoken uncertainties, "What? Ya love old women, is that it?" she asked cautiously, "Maybe that's why Yukinoshita's big sister was after ya in the first place!"

Hachiman gave Kawasaki a bewildered look, "What are you saying Saki?"

Kawasaki glowered at him and gave an angry snort, "There you go, ya dumbass!" she cursed, "Ya messed up my name again! How many times do I have to tell ya" she emphasised her name in a loud manner, "My last name is Kawasaki and my first name is Saki" she glared down at him, "Do ya get it? Well do ya?" she asked with mild annoyance in her voice.

"I remember your name Kawasaki" Hachiman emphasised her name deliberately, "In fact I called you by your first name intentionally" he lied carefully, trying his best not to get pummelled into the ground. Why did all the girls in his high school have to know martial arts? This was simply unfair for innocent guys like him.

Kawasaki scoffed, "I don't believe ya Hikigaya" she said rather tersely.

"Well I'm sorry if you feel that way Kawasaki san" he added the honofic to gauge her reaction and as expected he saw the small flash of hurt sentiment in her eyes, "It won't happen again"

"Loose the honofic ya lazy bum" Kawasaki said with a slightly touchy voice, "Ya didn't have to get all sensitive and shit over stuff like this" she said while averting her gaze from his rotten dead fish eyes, "I just think ya never take me seriously, that's all" Kawasaki mumbled in a low voice, "It hurts when ya can't even remember my name, ya know?"

Hachiman felt guilty and released a deep sigh, "My apologies Kawasaki" he mumbled, "I will try to remember it from now on"

Kawasaki gave an un-lady like snort, "Yeah, when have I heard that before?" she asked bitterly.

"Look Kawasaki" Hachiman tried but she didn't even glance down at him but he was adamant at making her listen to him, "You are right" he admitted after giving up every other effort, "I can't seem to remember your last name for some reason, I don't know why though" he replied awkwardly and he saw Kawasaki moving away from him, "But if you want I can try calling you by your first name" he added swiftly. Upon hearing his words Kawasaki lowered her head to look down at his sitting form and Hachiman took it as his permission to continue presenting his case, "You see I always mess up your last name" he said with a guilty look in his eyes which he blinked away within a minute before providing her with his last effort "But I always get your first name right, don't I?" he asked with a small smile.

Kawasaki blinked in confusion and blushed a violent shade of red, "Ya mean to say…I mean…" she took a deep breath but it didn't stop her from stuttering, "Y-ya wa-wanna be on f-first n-name basis with m-me?"

Hachiman finally realised the dilemma and immediately tried to backpedal, "Forget I said that!" he added quickly, "I'm sorry again Saki, um, I mean Kawasaki!" he dropped his head in between his hands and tried in vain to keep himself from blushing at his very own bold assertions over a high school girl, and that too had to be Kawasaki Saki of all the girls in his school. 'I am doomed!' he thought miserably.

"I like it" Hachiman couldn't believe he was hearing Kawasaki's voice even after he made such an outrageous claim upon her short tempered self. He was expecting to be pulverized any minute now but instead he found her walking closer towards him, "I like it when you say my name" she repeated and now he could see her blushing cheeks.

"Okay then. Good to know" Hachiman added while nodding his head and silently congratulating himself on his good fortune, "You can call me by my first name too" he said without thinking.

Minutes passed and he could clearly hear the progressing tennis match being played in the back ground. Kawasaki was standing still before him, her cheeks red, her eyes not quite meeting his and then he heard her voice, mumble shyly in an almost inaudible whisper, "Okay Hachiman?"

Both loners with miserable communication skills were blushing in the school grounds and both were highly aware how they had crossed certain boundaries and come out of their respective comfort zones. Hachiman took a deep breath and tested the waters first, "You came looking for me Saki" he tested her name on his tongue and found it almost comforting, "Did you want something from me?" he asked while getting up after he had safely repacked his bento. If he lived though this day, he would be thanking Komachi for making such a great meal for his miserable onii-chan

"Y-yeah, um, I was looking for ya Ha-Hachi-Hachiman" Kawasaki spoke his name after overcoming her initially difficulties, "I have something to ask ya Hachiman." She began slowly, "It's a request Hachiman." She stated clearly, "Will ya help me out Hachiman?" She asked directly.

Hachiman was successful in hiding his scowl. Saki had said his name no more than three times and now it looked like she had turned it into her own little game. It was almost an inside joke. 'How many times can you say my name in a conversation' Hachiman thought while silently fuming.

However Kawasaki was giving him a small smile of contentment and Hachiman thought he was forgiven for his usual mistakes.

"Well Saki, what's the request?" he asked, back in business mode.

Saki replied in a serious voice, "It's about a new part time job Hachiman" she smiled again at saying his name and he smiled back in return.

"Well, what about this job?" Hachiman asked with slight apprehension at remember her past records, "Is it…ok?"

"Of course it is!" Saki said while nodding her head, "It's a business run by one of our relatives. They just need another pair of hands on the job and I kinda applied for it since the pays great and the work itself is not that much" she stated her point carefully.

"Well then, I don't see why you would need me?" Hachiman asked, "I'm not interested in a part time job at the moment."

"Lazy ass" Kawasaki mumbled in good humour.

Hachiman ignored the jibe, "Lunch break is almost over Saki" he said smoothly, "Better make it fast."

Saki blushed and added in a small voice, "I need a volunteer" she said awkwardly, "For my practice sessions"

Hachiman gave her a confused look, "Huh?"

Kawasaki sighed and clarified his doubts, "I got a job in a massage parlour" she said and then with the reddest of blushes marring her cheeks, she pointedly looked at him and mumbled, "I want you to be my first customer"

Once again Hachiman could say only one thing:

"Huh?"

/

A/N: Yes! Finished before midnight! And its over 2000 words. Hurray me!

So I know what you people are thinking.

Where's the massage chapter, right?

Well, you see I ran into a little bit of problem.

You see there were two options:

Option One got 10 votes

Option Two got 12 votes

Now, technically I could have proceeded with the 'Kawasaki massage' chapter but here's the thing, there was no real majority. I mean, 2 votes is a small margin.

And the Komachi massage chapter had 12 to 4 so it was a no brainer but this one was really tight!

So I decided to give you people another go at it.

This time around I want a clear majority!

Here are your options:

Option One: Haruno gets her revenge on Hachiman (by sensually torturing him through massage)

Option Two: Kawasaki gives Hachiman a full body massage

Everyone, please pick one!

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams


	25. Chapter 25 Saki's Hands

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 25: Saki's Hands

Hikigaya Hachiman found himself standing in front a massage parlour during his weekend after he decided to accept Kawasaki Saki's request and although he did promise he would arrive on time and help her, he already knew this day would end badly for either of both parties involved.

Like always he was second guessing his decisions and placing blame over his horrible luck with women of a fiercer disposition.

Kawasaki Saki or as he was now beginning to call her…Saki was easily mistaken for a violent delinquent due to her rough exterior but in reality she was actually a shy and timid, high school girl with certain loner qualities especially her lack of a proper communication skills.

'She is like me… only a little less rotten and creepy' Hachiman thought while checking the address she had texted him into his phone and finding that, indeed, he had arrived at the correct spot.

Not that he had any doubts over her making such a simple mistake as messing up the address, that was more in line with their resident service club airhead.

Saki was street smart and efficient and if he was being honest with himself then he would also say that she was a good elder sister but then again her only competition was with Yukinoshita Haruno and on that front, Saki was a clear winner because her over indulged brother complex towards Kawasaki Taishi and her often overlooked sisterly affection towards Keika Kawasaki, was one of her more endearing qualities which made her at least tolerable in his book.

'Bug boy should consider himself lucky' he thought morosely, 'If it weren't for Saki I would have already done some much needed pest control and kept Komachi away from his pesky clutches'

For some reason his cute little sister, Komachi actually considered that bratty, no good, Taishi, a decent enough person to actually call him a friend. As her older brother and a sane human being Hachiman was completely astounded

'I mean how in the world does that happen', he pondered to himself while waiting on the nearly vacant street, 'How does a below average guy like him get to be within a fifty mile radius of a dream girl like Komachi' Hachiman shook his head at the unfairness of the world before a more sinister thought entered his mind 'Is it possible that Saki threatened Komachi to be friends with her little brother' he ran this train of thought again in his mind before arriving at the horrible conclusion, 'There is no doubt in my mind' he thought morbidly, 'My sister had already been caught in the web of the Kawasaki siblings' he looked at the massage parlour with dread, '…And now I am next'

Hachiman took a deep breath and relived those few precious moments of his life as he was certain he was going inside to meet his untimely demise. 'Maybe Saki plans to finish me off' he thought with a hint of fear, 'I insulted her brother too many times behind her back and like the coward he is, he probably tattled to his elder sister like a cry baby and now…' Hachiman gulped, 'She plans to take revenge'

On a fundamental level Hachiman understood Saki's motivation. 'I would have done the same thing' he thought in agreement. God forbid if anyone insulted Komachi and he somehow found out about it then there would be no force on the face of the earth that could protect them from his wrath. He would hunt them down and…well he had a long list of things he would do to them but saying them now would just spoil the surprise.

'I'm the best Onii-chan in the entire universe' he thought with a creepy grin on his lips and a proud look in his eyes.

A couple of days ago Hachiman had carried out one of his brotherly duties to perfection and Komachi was incredibly pleased with his efforts. He had given her a proper massage to treat her back pains and now her cute little sister was always showering him with affection. She prepared him a special bento, hugged him and even…kissed him.

'Maybe my life is finally turning around' Hachiman thought happily while taking a small look inside the massage parlour. Saki was late and he was getting slightly impatient over her tardiness.

'Maybe she changed her mind' he dared to think such a positive thought, 'I mean if it were me I wouldn't even consider giving myself a massage. I mean look at me!' Hachiman stepped in front of the window of the massage parlour and stared at his reflection, 'I'm not exactly good looking and then there are my eyes' he gave a small sigh of sadness, 'My rotten dead fish eyes' but he cheered up at remembering his sister's kind words, 'But at least Komachi thinks they are okay and that's all that matters to me.'

Hachiman gathered his resolve and stepped inside the massage parlour with renewed confidence over his ability to survive through almost everything, 'After all, I faced Yukinoshita Haruno…although I had four powerful girls backing me up…and even then we lost' his confidence was slowly evaporating from his body, '…if it weren't for Shizuka I would have probably ended up like Zaimokuza or worse Hayama' he couldn't believe he was actually feeling sorry for the poor bastard. Whatever atrocities Yukinoshita Haruno did on him had long lasting effects.

After that incident he was his usual fake self during class but if Tobe was to be believed then whenever he spotted Yukinoshita Yukino, his face would scrunch up in horror and he would flee the scene mumbling the letter 'Y' over and over again.

'What did Haruno exactly do to him' Hachiman thought while taking steady steps inside the facility, trying in vain to find the light switch, 'I mean are there some forms of psychological tortures that I don't know about'

After a little bit of fumbling he finally found the light switch and turned it on…only to be surprised by an errant looking Kawasaki Saki, glaring at him with equal amounts of annoyance and impatience.

"Took ya long enough Hachiman" Saki said tersely, "I didn't knew anyone could stare blankly at a building for such a long time" she crossed her arms over her breasts, "Thanks for proving me wrong"

Hachiman ignored her sarcasm, "Always happy to help you out Saki" he added with equal amounts of sarcasm before finally getting a good look at her current choice of clothing… and he was rendered speechless, "…what are you wearing?"

Saki blushed at his scrutiny, "My work uniform, what else!" she said while avoiding his gaze before switching into her excruciating cloth connoisseur persona to hide her embarrassment, "I will have you know, this is a superior weave, high temperature wash fabric, made using bi stretch polyester"

Hachiman did not understand a single word she said but his dead fish eyes and rotten brain were already busy deciphering her apparel.

Kawasaki Saki was wearing a black asymmetrical styled tunic with a mandarin collar and princess seams which was fastened at the front by shank buttons and had a centre back pleat and dual side vents to better accommodate her each and every movements during her scheduled massage sessions.

"Ha-Hachiman c-can ya st-stop st-staring already" Saki said with a stuttering voice while a heavy blush spread across her cheeks.

Hachiman blushed at having been caught staring by her, "Sorry Saki" he said, "…Um, you look nice" he spoke without thinking.

Saki gave a small, awkward nod, "Thanks, I guess" she mumbled while straightening the hem of her tunic which was extremely short and came just below her thighs, leaving her long and creamy legs bare for his momentary scrutiny.

"Um, where are your pants Saki?" Hachiman dared to ask and judging by the renewed fidgeting of his fellow loner, he assumed that a rather scandalous topic had been broached for their pleasant discussions.

"I didn't pick the uniform, okay!" Saki replied while trying to fix her tunic once again. She was a tall girl to begin with and this work attire was in the wrong side of risqué according to her wardrobe standards and being criticised by Hachiman was not helping her solve her anxieties and boost her confidence from any reasonable viewpoint, "Ya probably wouldn't have complained if it was that blonde floozy wearing this dress instead of me, now wouldn't ya?" she added with a vicious snarl.

Hachiman rested his eyes on her face before telling her the honest truth, "You are right" he began in a steady voice, "I wouldn't have said anything if it was Miura wearing this tunic because she is more comfortable wearing these types of clothes than you are, Saki"

Saki gave him a death glare, "Well sorry for not meeting you're usual standards Hikigaya" she replied while gritting her teeth in anger and returned to addressing him by his last name, "Not every girl needs to dress like a slut to get a guys attention, ya know" she added while fuming.

"Calm down Kawasaki" Hachiman read the adverse mood and adapted to the changing circumstances by also returning to calling her by her last name. He saw the small flash of hurt run past her eyes before being replaced by annoyance and anger.

"Shut the hell up!" Kawasaki shouted, "Ya said more than enough!" She walked into his personal space and stared him down with her fierce gaze. "Get lost Hikigaya! I don't need your help after all"

He took a deep breath and began to manage this situation from further escalating despite being provided the chance to leave by his former requester, "Kawasaki I was not trying to offend you or anything" he said while giving her some much needed space, "I just thought you were uncomfortable wearing such types of short clothes since you kept fidgeting with the hem of your tunic every time we talked" he gave her an obvious once over and despite her anger Kawasaki blushed at his overt perusal although she didn't raise her voice in complaint, "I already said you looked nice in this tunic and I really meant it" he said to her in a slow voice, "It's just that I wanted you to feel more relaxed and at ease, that's all and its quite evident that this tunic is not helping you by any means despite looking great on you."

Kawasaki listened to his words and her face softened, "I don't look slutty or anything, do I?" she asked again, voicing her insecurities to him, "I mean, this is short but I don't feel bad while wearing it" she added while blushing.

"Then you don't have anything to worry about" Hachiman said in a relieved voice, "You look nice in anything you wear and this tunic is not an exception" he emphasised his point by subtly glancing at the vents which exposed her thighs, "And believe me Kawasaki, if you need to dress up to get a guy's attention then that guy is either blind or probably not worth it."

Kawasaki gave a slight cough, "Who said anything about wanting a guy's attention" she asked with mild embarrassment which was easily deflected back into mild annoyance

Hachiman understood his mistake, "Well you kinda blurted it out during your little rant" he said with a slight awkwardness in his voice, "But don't worry, I will keep your secret. Believe it!"

Kawasaki's eyes lit up, "I know that reference!" she blurted out in excitement.

Hachiman looked confused, "Who doesn't?" he asked.

Kawasaki huffed, "Whatever…" She successfully distracted him by placing both her hands on her hips which helped accentuate her figure while making her look intimidating as well, "And about that guy…" her voice trailed off but she found the courage to continue by evading his eyes "…he's worth every bit of my attention and I am almost done keeping secrets from him" she added in a small voice while waiting for any signs of acknowledgement from him only to have none.

"If you say so" Hachiman said with a shrug, "Are you sure he isn't blind?" he asked.

Kawasaki gave a dry chuckle, "Not exactly sure about that" she said in good humour, "But there is definitely something wrong with his eyes, Hachiman" she boldly stated.

Hachiman nodded his head, "Well, you should tell him to get his eyes checked" he said with a straight face which made Kawasaki almost lose her temper.

"You're so dense" Kawasaki mumbled beneath her breath.

"What?" Hachiman asked, "I didn't quite catch that"

"Nothing!" Kawasaki added swiftly and began speaking hurriedly, "I just thought we had enough chit-chat for a while now, don't ya think. Yes we did! We should probably get down to business and give ya that massage, you're waiting for, alright Hachiman?" she said with a comically stretched smile.

Hachiman nodded his head and carefully hid his shock at her sudden over enthusiasm, "Alright then, Kawasaki." he said calmly "Show me the way"

Kawasaki nodded his head, "Follow me" she said and she led him down a long corridor which led to the back of the massage parlour. Hachiman walked behind her and much to his chagrin he would occasionally catch a fleeting glimpse of her swaying behind in this fetching tunic.

"Where are the others?" Hachiman asked Kawasaki, trying in vain to divert his attention into a small amount of idle communication, "You did say this place was owned by one of your relatives, didn't you. So where are they?"

"My uncle is away at the moment" Kawasaki replied while walking ahead, "He left the massage parlour under my care for the time being and let his employees have a day off" after a hesitant pause she added, "Currently, we are the only ones here in this place"

Hachiman nodded his head, "Alright then"

Kawasaki turned around and Hachiman saw her blushing face in the dim light of the corridor, "D-don't g-get any i-ideas Ha-Hachiman" she said with a stuttering voice, "P-pervert"

Hachiman gave her a bored look, "Kawasaki you will be the one massaging me" he said rather blandly, "If anyone does anything perverted it will be you not me"

Kawasaki blushed a violent shade of red and her stuttering became worse, "I-I a-am not tha-that kin-kinda g-girl" she said in a soft mumbling voice.

Hachiman nodded his head, "I believe you"

Kawasaki was not convinced. She turned around and fixed him with a glare, "Listen smartass, if ya really think I will do weird stuff to ya with the excuse of a massage then ya have another thing coming"

Hachiman looked at her with fresh confusion, "I don't know what you mean Kawasaki"

"Call me Saki godammit!" Kawasaki shouted furiously, "We are on a first name basis Hachiman!" she emphasised his name in a loud manner, "And just because I got angry over a misunderstanding and started calling ya by your last name again doesn't mean we have to switch back into our old, lonely selves, ya understand?" Kawasaki asked with deep rooted anxiousness in her voice, "Just call me Saki, okay Hachiman?"

Hachiman was taken aback by her outburst but he nodded his head, "Very well…Saki" he said her name and in response she gave him a bright smile.

"Better, now follow me" she gestured to a door, "We are almost there."

Kawasaki pushed the door open and Hachiman looked over her shoulders to the room where she would supposedly be giving him a massage.

As expected there was the ominous looking massage table at the centre of the room and at the side corner there was a long counter, on top of which a number of lotions and moisturisers and various other bottles of expensive accessories for a professional massage were kept and next to the counter was a small sink with two taps obviously for providing both hot and cold water during each massage session. Needless to say he was looking into an extremely professional environment much different from his home residence where he had given Komachi a back massage, just a few days ago.

"Well then, ya wait here for a sec," Saki told him, "And I will be back in a minute after I get changed into some more suitable clothes"

Hachiman nodded his head in understanding, "I told you that tunic was bothering you." He said with a slightly smug look on his face, "You should have listened to me in the first place Saki"

Kawasaki gave him a small scowl, "For the last time Hachiman this tunic is not bothering me at all! Hell, even the skirt I wear to school is shorter than this"

"No it's not" Hachiman blurted.

"Hmm, well you would know about that now, wouldn't ya? Since ya looked under my skirt once" Kawasaki accused him rather boldly upon remembering that past incident, "Black lace, ring any bells Hachiman" she asked while a small teasing smile spread across her lips.

Hachiman blushed, "Just get changed already" he added rather tersely "I am seriously beginning to rethink this whole idea all over again."

Kawasaki scoffed, "You and me both, mister" she said before adding on her way out of the room "…And that's why there has been a slight change of plans"

Hachiman followed her halfway through the door, "What change of plans?" he asked with a slight bit of worry in his voice.

"Well Hachiman, just a minute ago, ya said that I will do perverted things to ya while giving ya a massage" she flashed him an embarrassed grin while trying her best to hide the actual truth, "And I took your accusation very seriously. So now…" Kawasaki gave him a coy look, "You will be the one giving me a massage."

"Excuse me?" Hachiman asked in utter confusion.

"Ya heard me" Kawasaki repeated, "Ya said I would do perverted things to ya on the massage table…and you're damn wrong about that" she told him while trying her best to make him believe her version of the truth, "So I will prove my innocence by letting ya give me a massage instead, ya understand?"

"No I don't" Hachiman said, "This doesn't make any sense."

"Well, it does to me" Kawasaki huffed before leaving him in this forsaken room, "So get ready Hachiman. I will be back in a minute for my massage."

Hachiman swept a look around the room and shook his head. 'Why does stuff like this always happen to me?' he asked himself

While he was busy washing his hand in the sink and carefully looking at the various bottles in the counter, he missed the sneaky entrance of his fellow loner who had changed her clothing and was now patiently waiting for him to notice her presence.

After a minute Kawasaki cleared her throat and Hachiman gave a small jump in surprise.

"Well, I'm back" Kawasaki said while trying to keep her voice neutral while Hachiman was miserably failing in keeping his composure.

"What are your wearing?" Hachiman asked in an almost alarmed voice.

"Ya have eyes don't ya Hachiman?" Kawasaki asked with only a hint of embarrassment, "I'm wearing a leotard" she said with a small blush which she tried to hide by giving a small twirl, "How do I look?"

"…Um" Hachiman was rendered speechless… twice… by Kawasaki's bold choice of clothing. She was certainly veering way out of her comfort zone but she was still putting up a brave front as evident by the look in her eyes.

Kawasaki Saki had presented herself in this backless, white leotard with a scooped neckline and wide armholes. During her small twirl, he caught a glimpse of her entire exposed back and noticed the thin shoulder straps travel downwards to cover her bottom while leaving her legs and arms completely bare.

"…Um…where did you find this Saki" Hachiman finally asked after he regained his voice.

Kawasaki placed both her arms in front of her in a defensive posture, "I found them in the employee locker room" her cheeks were red again, "This probably belonged to one of the female masseurs who provide specialised services to some of the customers around here."

Hachiman gave her a sour look, "…And even after knowing that you want to work here" he asked.

"…It's not like that! They just wear this stuff during the massage sessions. Nothing else! They even have bunny tails and cat ears! Some customers are a bit quirky, that's all" Kawasaki replied in a defensive tone although she was not able to convince him by any means possible, "Besides my uncle won't be making me do those kinds of stuff"

"Saki, I don't know" Hachiman said in a wary tone, "I can't help you now after knowing this. I-I," he looked at her eyes, "I can't let you get into weird stuff like this. I'm sorry"

Kawasaki gave a disheartening sigh, "Ya don't have to feel sorry for me Hachiman" she said in a small voice, "Who knows, maybe my uncle will fire me in a few days after he learns how horrible I am at all this massage stuff"

"What makes you say that?" Hachiman asked in curiosity.

"Well you're not the first guy I asked for help, ya know" Kawasaki replied.

"You invited other guys for massages too?" Hachiman asked in a state of alarm.

"Of course not ya idiot!" Kawasaki retorted, "I just asked my brother"

Hachiman made a face, "And what happened then?"

Kawasaki shrugged her shoulders, "Well I started giving him a back rub and after a few minutes he probably got bored and started getting all restless and stuff" she narrated the entire episode in such an innocent manner which left Hachiman pleasantly surprised, "And after a few minutes he started reciting the periodical table. When I asked him if I was doing something wrong, Taishi didn't give a proper reply but when I turned around to grab another bottle of lotion he just bolted from his room and locked himself in the bathroom for over half an hour"

Hachiman listened to this entire narrative with a slightly open mouth, "…And after this…surreal experience you think you're bad at giving massages?" he asked

Kawasaki nodded her head, "Of course I am!" Her face looked forlorn, "After that day Taishi had been giving me this strange look and he is always awkward around me" she gave him a troubled look, "So you see Hachiman, this is not just about my job anymore." She added with renewed fervour, "I have to know what I did wrong so that I can help my little brother"

'Damn bug boy!' Hachiman cursed mentally, 'He was aroused! There is no other possible explanation for this. Saki gave him such a pleasurable massage that he got a boner and to save face he locked himself in the bathroom… but he stayed there for over half an hour. Why? It doesn't take that long…unless' Hachiman scrunched his face in abject horror, 'He was fantasising about Saki while he…'

"Oh you bastard!" Hachiman mumbled aloud.

"What did you just say Hachiman?" Kawasaki asked with a slight suspicion in her voice. If he was bad mouthing his little brother then she would never forgive him.

"Nothing Saki" Hachiman lied. He had no intention of getting beat up by an angry elder sister with a brother complex even though she looked completely spectacular in this classy leotard with a generous display of cleavage.

"I'm waiting Hachiman" Kawasaki said while tapping her bare feet on the floor, "Have you decided yet?"

"It's a tough choice Saki" Hachiman replied solemnly, "You can either learn about your mistakes while giving me a massage as you previously intended or like you said just now, I can give you a massage and you can learn from me on the spot"

Kawasaki gave a small sigh, "So what will it be Hachiman?" she asked.

/

A/N: Thank you so much for all your support! Sorry about the delay in posting this chapter but in my defence it's a very big chapter (4000+ words) and now you guys are probably thinking where is the massage.

Well it's not my fault, alright!

Blame wildarms13 for giving me such good ideas! Wildarms13 you are the greatest! Simply the greatest being in the entire Oregairu fandom and I'm incredibly lucky to have your input.

Well, wildarms13 had a simple idea and I'm an idiot for not thinking this about this before but hey! That's why I ask you guys for your opinion.

So for one last time here are your options:

Option 1: Hachiman gives Kawasaki a massage

Option 2: Kawasaki gives Hachiman a massage

Please, pick one.

(I promise within the next 24 hours you will have a massage chapter)

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams


	26. Chapter 26 Hachiman's Hands

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 26: Hachiman's Hands

Hikigaya Hachiman closed his eyes and pretended this was nothing else but a nice dream because only in a dream would he expect a beautiful young woman like Kawasaki Saki to be wearing a backless, white leotard with a scooped neckline which left her arms and legs bare for his scrutiny and only in a dreams would she be asking him to give her a massage while being alone with him in a room at a deserted massage parlour in Chiba on a weekend.

'Just a dream' Hachiman thought while keeping his eyes closed, 'When I open my eyes everything will go back to normal'

Hachiman slowly opened his eyes and found Kawasaki Saki staring at him with a mild glare. Even in a leotard she was capable of making him cower in fear over his inability to make a suitable decision.

"What will it be Hachiman?" Saki asked, tapping her bare foot on the cold floor, "Should ya give me a massage first or should I give ya one?"

"Let me think this through Saki" Hachiman said and once again he returned to his contemplative state leaving behind a mildly blushing and slightly fuming, Kawasaki Saki.

"Make it fast." Saki snapped

Hachiman nodded his head while keeping his eyes closed and although he looked to be perfectly calm, his mind was constantly getting overrun by a steady stream of chaotic thoughts.

'What should I do?' Hachiman repeated this same question over and over again in his mind, 'Think very carefully Hachiman. If you make a single mistake today it will probably end up being your last' he involuntarily shivered at such a scary thought, 'If Kawasaki gives me a massage and I get aroused then there will be a very big problem, so logically I should avoid getting a massage from her and that can only be possible if I am the one giving her a massage instead' Hachiman nodded his head at his own reasoning skills and presumably took a great decision.

"Alright then" Hachiman said gravely rubbing his hands together in preparation, "Saki you're going first" he looked into her eyes and gestured her to climb onto the massage table, "I will show you everything I know, alright. All you have to do is repeat whatever I do and you will end up giving anyone and everyone a superb massage. Do you understand Saki?" he asked her solemnly.

Saki nodded her head, "I understand Hachiman" she said in a very small voice before gingerly climbing up onto the massage table.

She saw Hachiman head towards the sink and wash his hands before returning to stand right next to her side. She felt oddly timid before his presence but she drove away those thoughts by closing her eyes. Her body was freely being offered to him for his expert services.

"Saki I will be showing you a back massage" Hachiman said evenly, "For that you need to lie on your stomach and not on your back like you are currently doing right now."

Saki blushed, "I'm sorry" she quickly got up and flipped over to present her back to him and Hachiman took a long sigh to relax his unsteady nerves before mentally preparing himself for an uphill battle.

Hachiman stared at her leotard which miraculously left her entire back exposed for his future ministrations but before he could think about relieving her from any discomfort, he had to attend to another pressing matter, "Saki you are extremely tensed" Hachiman said blandly, "Your shoulders are bunched and your back is creased" he gingerly placed his palm on her back with only a small amount of pressure and he immediately felt her growing tense, "You need to relax Saki" he said in a soothing voice, "Without relaxing, anything I do would be completely meaningless to you" he told her honestly, "There is only so much a massage can do if a person is unwilling to receive one"

"I'm willing!" Saki blurted out without thinking, "I want this. I really want you to give me... a massage Hachiman" she blushed after hearing how she sounded and how her words could easily be mistaken for something of a more intimate nature, "J-just tell me what to do" Saki said by turning her head sideways from the face cradle, "Just show me how to relax and I will do it." she said while keeping her amethyst gaze on his pair of dead fish eyes.

Hachiman nodded his head and decided to help her in her endeavour to relax, "Start by taking a couple of nice deep breaths. It will help you calm your nerves, alright" he carefully glided a lazy finger over her exposed back and once again noticed her going rigid, "Relax Saki. Relax" he spoke softly and understandingly, "I know this feels strange." He said slowly, "A stranger is touching your body, touching you on a very intimate level and you cannot help but grow wary of his touch." He gracefully drove a finger over the edges of her leotard and away from her exposed skin, "It will take a while to get used to this experience, get used to this alien touch" he trailed his fingers downwards before abruptly stopping altogether, "Take all the time you need, Saki" he said evenly, "But if you want I can stop"

"Don't stop" Saki said in a very small voice, "I'm g-getting the hang of this" she turned her head and gave him a small smile, "A-and you're no stranger H-Hachiman" she stated firmly, "Not to me"

Hachiman nodded his head and looked at the counter, "Should I get some lotion for you?" he asked.

"Yeah" Saki said, "Um, could you bring the lavender scented one" she asked timidly, "It's just that I like the smell of lavender. It helps me stay calm and relaxed"

"As you wish" Hachiman said before getting up to retrieve the bottle.

Within a moment he was back to her side, removing the cap of the bottle and squeezing a generous amount of creamy, translucent lotion onto his large, warm hands. He rubbed his hands together and formed a thick, sticky lather which smelled of lovely, lavender. Saki took a small sniff and relaxed by returning her head back to the face cradle.

"I will be spreading this lotion all across your back" Hachiman said from behind her, "Don't be surprised!" He said with a small amount of fear in his voice which made her almost frown, "I will be applying this lotion on your entire back, starting from your shoulder blades to the small of your back" he said while refraining from touching her, "If you are uncomfortable about anything let me know." he offered kindly, "Don't be alarmed if I mistakenly do something to surprise you…and most importantly don't start kicking me around if I somehow mess this up, alright" he said with apprehension, "I'm not perfect"

"Don't ya worry Hachiman" Saki said with a teasing smile, "If ya mess this up for me then I will mess this up for ya in return" she turned around once again, "Don't think ya are leaving this room without getting a massage from me, ya understand?"

Hachiman quirked an eyebrow while he carefully started spreading the lotion over her exposed back in small circular movements by using both his open palms while keeping all his fingers stretched to their limit, "Why do you insist on giving me a massage, Saki" he asked without stopping his massage, now moving towards her upper back, "You can learn whatever you need by just memorising the movements of my fingers." Hachiman began showing her the level of his skill and Saki only occasionally shivered in uneasiness before finding herself completely relaxing in his lethargic strokes which were reverberated by his halting voice.

"Always start from the lower back before slowly making your way upwards without breaking the established rhythm of your previously practiced patterns and stokes" Hachiman instructed her while leaving fleeting finger touches across her spine, gently travelling upwards until coming to a halt on the nape of her neck, where he did a small two fingered pluck, on her smooth skin to relieve her of the tension from behind her neck. Saki gave a small gasp of surprise, "Agh!" She was not expecting him to touch her neck but she did not complain and instead gave a small purr of hesitating approval, "nn~"

Hachiman slickly rubbed her neck with his thumb and index fingers, applying the smallest of pressure while focusing every bit of his attention on this soft and vulnerable spot. He rotated his fingers mesmerizingly on this tiny spot, while her long blue hair constantly came in his way and disturbed his attention. After a moment of thinking he carefully tucked her ponytail on the other side of her face, which made her neck entirely bare for his nimble fingers.

"Ya are not planning on strangling me are ya?" Saki asked with a breathy laugh

"The thought crossed my mind" Hachiman replied teasingly, "But you will probably walk it off in a day and find another new place to work within a fortnight."

"Ya don't think I will kill ya after ya kill me" Saki asked jokingly.

Hachiman gave a dry chuckle, "That is a given, Saki"

Saki closed her eyes when his finger left her neck and moved their focus on each of her shoulder blades. She found him applying another generous layer of lotion over her back and this time, she was completely at peace with him and his act of giving her a massage, "aau~" her vulgar moan made her blush and she gave a small cough to hide her embarrassment before finding another way to distract herself from his hands and palms and finger which were doing a work of miracle on her overtired back which had spent tedious amounts of times slaving over numerous part time jobs. But now there was only her and him and silence which was occasionally interrupted by her uncontrollable voice, "Aoo~" she was positively enjoying herself and this very experience over which she had her several misgivings and doubts but by now she was beginning to constantly crave his warm and firm touch on her stubborn back and his gentle and soft gingery nibbles on her tender neck with those calculating fingers which probably had a mind of their own. "ee~" her sharp intake of breath was in response to him trickling his fingers over her nape before resting them on the base of her skull while gently weighing the thickness of her silky tresses

"Your hair is…nice" Hachiman said awkwardly.

"Thank you" Saki replied and she was thankful that her blushing face was hidden by the face cradle.

Hachiman gave a small velvety nip with his fingers on the base of her skull before moving lower. He spread both his palms and covered her exposed back before gently increasing the pressure, just enough to start swaying her relaxed muscles on the massage table. Her back was getting warm, from the lotion he spread, from the fingers he trailed and from the hands he comforted. Her breathing was growing shallower and shallower by every passing moment, "ahai~ ahai~" Saki brought her hands to cover her mouth but she was already a little too late. Hachiman had clearly heard her voice and now, she was waiting for him to make fun of her for getting this worked up over a simple massage.

She waited and waited but Hachiman said nothing. He only paid attention to her shoulders, to her back and to her neck. There were no signs of smugness or revulsion on his face and once again Saki was reminded this was a certain rotten dead fish eyes loner and not anyone else that would play with her feelings and make her feel miserable.

"Hachiman you're- you're-" Saki was unable to complete her sentence because Hachiman had ploughed through a difficult spindle of nerves on her extremely sensitive lower back which made her give a shrill cry of pure ecstasy, "qyiia~~" her face was hot, her back was flushed, her skin was tingling and her voice was shaky, "You're so good~" Saki managed in between a mellow tremor which breached her deepest recesses and uprooted her steely resolve with only a small pitter-patter combination of thumbs and forefingers, precariously away from the swell of her well defined hips which were modestly covered by the material of her pure, white leotard.

"Are you feeling better?" Hachiman asked in a small whisper while he seared upwards, brimming her private core with a profound stroke which left the dangers of her raised hips and rested lightly on her left shoulder blade, smartly making her come undone in one perfectly performed division by slicing away her suspicions and worries through eliciting throaty moans of unashamed pleasure, "aah~haa~" her lips parted of their own accord and bore this sinful voice which marred her senses and reached his ears. Hachiman felt her quake and shiver like an uncoiled wire, suddenly flowing with heated electricity.

While Saki laboured beneath his touch, Hachiman was also about to sport a mounting problem of his own embarrassment. He was a young, hormonal boy after all and Saki had a very sonorous and sensually gratifying voice which made his rotten brain concoct many unworldly scenarios beyond his wildest imagination.

'Those can never happen' Hachiman thought gravely before removing his hand from her back.

"That's all for today Saki" Hachiman said in a small voice which held no chance for any further arguments, "I better go home." He looked at her prone form which was heaving and gasping for air through her open mouth, "You should get dressed and return to your home as well"

Hachiman wanted to make this point extremely clear by staring into her eyes but Saki was not looking upto him and keeping her face, carefully hidden from his fixed and unmoving gaze. After another minute Hachiman gave a small sigh and turned around to head for the exit.

"See you later Saki" Hachiman said in farewell.

"We're not done yet Hachiman" he heard her voice rasp from behind him and it instantly gave him goose bumps on his flesh. He turned around and saw Saki standing up on her own two feet and slowly moving towards him by taking several steady steps.

Saki stopped right before him and gave him a heated look which bore tumultuous signs of fervour and passion. Her voice was beyond recognition yet he was able to listen to her every single word.

"You're not going anywhere Hachiman" Saki said in a smoky voice, "There are still a few stuff left for you to teach me"

/

A/N:

Okay! Just passed midnight. Sorry! (2500+ words is a lot)

Here are the options for the next chapter:

Option one: Now Saki gives Hachiman a massage

Option two: Saki goes home and gives Taishi a massage

Please, pick one

Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams


	27. Chapter 27 Kawasaki Learns

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 27: Kawasaki Learns

Hikigaya Hachiman openly gawked at the leotard clad figure of Kawasaki Saki and much to his terror and fear saw a certain unexplainable urge of deep seated passion and overflowing affection. Hachiman saw Saki approach him with a different walk and an altered body language. She was swaying her hips on every step, reeking of feminine wiles and mischief, gazing at him through half lidded eyes while moistening her lips with her luscious tongue. Hachiman visibly gulped at her change in demeanour and helplessly searched for a better exit point.

"You're not going anywhere Hachiman" Saki said in a smoky voice, "There are still a few stuff left for you to teach me"

"No there is not" Hachiman replied, "I have taught you everything I know." he said firmly, "All you have to do now is remember the patterns and techniques I just showed you a few moments ago and you will do positively fine on your job as a stand up masseuse in this fine establishment"

"How are ya so confident?" Saki asked while crossing her arms over her breasts and leaning forward, "Sure you showed me the tricks of the trade but there is no guarantee that I can just learn from them in one go!"

Hachiman sighed and nodded his head, "I understand this as well. It takes time to get really good at this but there is nothing more I can do for you now is there?" he asked rhetorically, "You just have to find a way to improve your skills through regular practice and I guarantee you will get better at giving massages" he said reasonably, "And what's the worst thing that could happen if you don't improve?" he asked rhetorically and upon getting no reply from her, he added "You will get fired! And knowing you, you will probably find another part time job within a week which might be far better than work here as a masseuse"

Saki listened to everything Hachiman said and after a moment of thoughtful consideration, she returned to her original request, "Hachiman, let me practice on you" she said without stuttering although a hint of a blush could be found forming on her cheeks, "You just showed me how it's done and if I give you a massage right now, when all of this is still fresh in my mind, then I could learn a thing or two from your feedback and improve myself, don't ya think?" she asked reasonably.

"I don't know…" Hachiman trailed off uncertainly while Saki waited for him to furnish a proper reply but after a couple of minutes of silence and upon getting no vocal reaction from him, her patience ran out, "I don't understand! Why is me giving you a massage such a big deal?" she asked scathingly, "You just gave me one right now and I learned a lot from it and now I want to give you one so that you can point out my flaws and mistakes." Saki gave Hachiman an annoyed look, "Why does everything have to be so damn complicated with us?" her eyes flashed with hurt, "Don't ya trust me Hachiman?" she asked in a choked voice.

Hachiman felt extremely guilty, "I trust you Saki and I have complete faith in your masseuse skills" he told her honestly, "But there might be a problem with me" he informed her awkwardly.

Saki stared at him in confusion, "What kinda problem?" she asked.

Hachiman blushed but he had to bring this out in the open to save both of them from further embarrassment, "I might give you a 'hard' time" he prayed to god she understood the innuendo and deciphered his hidden meaning.

Unfortunately for him Saki only gave him a look of complete innocence, "I will be extra careful with ya, I promise and I will respect your personal space, well maybe the best I can while giving ya a massage at least" she told him in such vague and uncertain terms, "Please Hachiman, I really want you to be my first" she pleaded with a watery look in her eyes.

'Oh dear God!'Hachiman thought with a horror-stricken look on his face, 'Does she even hear herself talk. I mean there must be a limit to miscommunications and misunderstandings even amongst us loners' he gave her a searching look, 'She must have some idea, I mean she can't be this clueless' he looked at her attractive and classy leotard clad figure and averted his gaze from her direction, 'If this was anybody else things would have escalated and ended up pretty badly for both individuals. It still might end badly! I don't know anymore!' he gave a small sigh of frustration, 'In a way, she has a valid point. With everything else considered, this has to happen between us before happening with others'

"Well Saki, it seems you have found yourself a willing customer" Hachiman finally relented to her wishes, "I might need a massage from you after all"

Saki's face brightened up in an instant, "Really?" she asked with a shocked look on her face which melted into a smile of contentment, "Thank you so much Hachiman. You won't regret this."

'Oh I won't be so sure about that' Hachiman thought morosely while staring into a blank spot on the massage table which might prove to be his final resting place, 'Damn you hormones, damn you youth' he cursed vehemently in his mind.

"Well, what are ya waiting for?" Saki asked excitedly, "Get undressed and climb onto the table. I can't wait to get this started."

"…excuse me?" Hachiman asked in a terrified voice, "What did you say there for a moment Saki. I didn't quite hear that"

Saki rolled her eyes to make herself appear nonchalant about this entire proceedings but there was a huge blush spreading across her cheeks which was making her seem less and less indifferent about this than her usual self, "I-I t-told ya to get un-undressed" Saki stuttered while excusing herself to wash her hands and afterwards kept herself busy by looking through several bottles of lotion and ointments, "Do ya want a lilacs or lavender?" Saki asked him without turning around while holding up two different kinds of bottles.

"Neither of them" Hachiman replied stoically, "And I am not getting undressed for this." He stated firmly, "You can just massage my back over my clothes. I don't think I will even notice the difference" he offered smoothly

Hearing his indifferent reply Saki finally turned around, "Don't be such a wuss Hachiman" Saki snapped, "Even I got changed into more suitable clothes before getting a massage" she argued back while touching the material of her leotard for emphasis which again made him avert his eyes from her direction, "And I'm not asking for much" she blushed the most violent shade of red before finally airing her request, "Y-you c-can just remove y-your sh-shi-shirt"

Hachiman heard her stuttering voice and realised there was no other way around this situation. With an unsteady heart and cloudy head, he gave her a slight nod of affirmation before he started to unbutton his shirt, "Alright I am taking off my shirt" he said while trying in vain to hide his blushing face from Saki who had decided to turn around and show him her back which was left entirely exposed due to her revealing leotard, all in the name of trying to provide him some unneeded kind of privacy "But my pants stay on. Got it!" he addressed her back

"D-don't be stupid, Hachiman" Saki said without turning, "Of course your pants stay on. I have…I have…I have no intention of getting into your pants" she spoke in a jumbled voice which led to further confusion

"…um, I don't think I understand what you mean Saki" Hachiman asked uncertainly while deciding to leave the most obvious interpretation of this phrase in the back of his rotten mind where several perverted scenarios ran amuck.

"I mean I won't massage your butt!" Saki stated coldly with her signature dry humour, "I won't even touch your legs" she further elaborated, "I will only work on your back, ok?" her voice grew smaller, "C-can I turn around?" she asked timidly.

"Go ahead" Hachiman said in a bland voice.

Saki turned around in one fluid motion and for the first time in her life she got to see Hachiman without his shirt on and subconsciously she began to memorise the expanse of his bare chest and span of his abdominal muscles.

"Yeah, I know" Hachiman said with a dry chuckle, "Nothing special to look at, right?" he joked

"You are…you are…" Saki was left speechless and senseless but she had to come back to her senses otherwise she would make a mess of things before they even began to get interesting, "You're fine, I guess" she lied to him in a very small voice.

Hachiman grimaced, "Well now you know why all the girls are running after the likes of Hayama" he said offhandedly, "Others are not even remotely charming enough or good looking enough to meet their requirements for an imaginary, ideal boyfriend" he gave a tired sigh, "On the other hand it saves me from a lot of trouble. Can you imagine what it would be like to be surrounded by so many people, especially girls, all day, every day, during and after school" he made a horrifying face, "I wouldn't wish such a terrible life even on my worst enemies" Hachiman added with a frown on his face.

"Well that just goes to prove how much of a nice guy ya really are" Saki said with a teasing smile while gently grasping him by the shoulders, "And nice guys like ya deserve a massage" she said while softly tugging him towards the direction of the massage table in the middle of the room, "So hop right up and get ready, Hachiman" she said with a spellbinding look, "Coz I'm about to show ya what I got." She informed him with a devilish smirk.

Hachiman nodded his head before adjusting himself on the massage table and making his head comfortable enough to rest on the face cradle. By now he was using his peripheral vision to keep an eye on Saki and he saw her washing her hands again on the sink like he had done earlier before giving her a massage. After washing her hands she began to search for the perfect ointment to use against his skin.

"Any simple oil will do" Hachiman advised her from his prone form on the massage table.

"Ya sure?" Saki asked, "There are various scented lotions out here"

Hachiman grimaced, "I really don't want to smell like a flower"

Saki gave a small laugh before returning to his side, "Oil it is then" she said while showing him a small, normal looking bottle.

"Perfect" Hachiman replied coolly, "You can begin any moment now, Saki."

"Okay then" Saki vigorously shook the bottle repeatedly over her open palm and carefully watched the oil spilling out of the bottle and accumulating in one of her hands. She returned the bottle back onto the counter and began rubbing her hands together to form a slick layer of oil over both her hands before she encountered her first problem.

"What am I doing wrong?" Saki asked Hachiman, "Why can't make a thick lather of this stuff like you did?"

Hachiman looked at her hands before patiently replying, "Because it is oil Saki and not a lotion" he said, "You can just apply it directly on my back, alright"

"Oh, okay then" Saki replied with a small flustered expression while again reaching for the bottle of oil before accidently spilling a rather large quantity of the oil over his lower back by mistake which made her curse in shock, "shit!" and made him flinch in surprise, "eeh!". Both were silent for a moment before Saki gave a tired sigh and removed herself from his side

"I'm completely useless!" Saki loudly lamented, "I'm so stupid! I can't get a thing right!" her voice broke and she looked visibly disheartened.

"These kinds of stuff happen sometimes Saki. It was a small mistake" Hachiman tried to console her, "Don't give up just yet. Give it another shot, okay?" he said, trying to encourage her, "I'm lying in wait for you to try, you see" he joked.

Saki gave a small smile, "That was a horrible joke" she steeled her mind and once again approached his side to begin her simple task, "Gonna give this another try before calling it a day, okay" she said firmly to an invisible foe.

"Okay" Hachiman furnished a reply nonetheless.

Painstakingly slow in her second endeavour, Saki finally managed to lower her soft hands over his bare back and allowed her palms to rest on his skin and just feel the body heat release from his tensed body and gathering her chaotic nerves she slowly began her cautious massage of his lower back.

"Go slow" Hachiman instructed, "Move from the ground up like I showed you, okay"

"Okay" Saki repeated and then she began to remember his touch on her body and decided to duplicate those same movements over him and his body.

Hachiman felt her soft and delicate hands hover over his lower back before gently pressing over his spine in a confirmation which showed both promise for her intent and resolve of her will. Now while her time of learning began, his time of hell also approached with renewed gusto.

'If I get aroused I can just lie and say she messed up her technique and get up' he thought everything through in his mind while experiencing the heavenly massage, "The worst thing that can happen is I have to give her another massage again and that is way better than any other outcome"

"grr~" a low guttural moan escaped from his lips and broke his concentration. He felt her hands gliding there way upwards in small, light strokes of pleasant musings which spelled doom for him and his currently limp body part which gave a small jolt of excitement.

'Don't you dare!' Hachiman thought in warning, 'Don't you even dare. If you even give a small peek and she notices it, then she won't hesitate to castrate us!'

"Am I doing alright?" Saki asked with a hint of worry in her voice, "You kinda made a sound a second ago and I thought I might have hit some muscle or something on your back, that's all"

"N-no" Hachiman said, trying his best to keep his voice level, "You are doing fine"

Saki gave a small scowl before at hearing this statement of his which made her gather the necessary courage needed to accomplish the worst feat possible in this straining circumstances…she got up, moved closer to him, hovered slightly over his body before she lowered herself and ended up straddling him.

"rr~" Hachiman growled despite himself. He felt her exposed thighs wrap themselves around his bare back and he felt the texture of her leotard brush against his skin but the most frightening thing of them all was that he felt the softness of her clothed core rub against his bare skin and that was a dangerous and tantalising experience in itself without the other distracting stimulus.

'She is not wearing anything underneath that leotard!' Hachiman thought in slight alarm, 'This is bad! This is very, very bad!'

Hachiman wiggled beneath her and Saki steadily fixed his position underneath him by applying more pressure with both her hands and both her thighs combined, "What's wrong?" She asked in mild irritation.

"You are…you are…You are sitting on me!" Hachiman exclaimed in horror.

"So" Saki said while giving his back a deep stroke with her fingers to distract him further, "I wasn't able to reach your entire back earlier but now, in this position I can" she said with a slightly embarrassed look on her face which she cleverly tried to hide behind annoyance, "What's wrong? Am I too heavy for ya Hachiman?" She asked with an edge to his voice.

'It's a trick question! Don't answer that!' His brain told Hachiman, 'Also she is very light'

Hachiman shook his head to clear these weird thoughts, "Um, you can carry on, I guess…unless you are already done" he said with a small piece of hope and a hint of pleading in his voice.

Saki smirked, "Not even close" she said with confidence, "Wait till I get to the best parts!"

And Hachiman gave a small sigh of defeat which quickly escalated into a dark groan of pleasure at her amateur yet firm manipulation of his back muscles, "hrr~" he bit his lips and chewed the inside of his cheeks to stop himself from groaning like an wounded animal but her touch was a sweet and everlasting torture which promised him heaven while taking him perilously close to hell.

Hachiman kept his eyes tightly shut while trying to keep his posture visibly relaxed but that was a very difficult task to manage with Saki slowly rocking over him and grinding into him while she worked away the bundles of his upper back without even realising the kind of horrors she was subjecting him to during this entire massage session.

"rrha~"Another throaty growl escaped his mouth and this time he could not even deny the fact that he was groaning in pure pleasure of this wonderful woman and her skilled hands which had mastered his technique and possible surpassed his level of skill after only one display of his prowess. She was giving him the best time of his life by running her dainty fingers over his back and slowly clomping his muscles and kneading his muscles into complete subjugation…but there was a small veiny muscle beginning to stand in revolt and Hachiman had to use his imagination to keep himself from giving her a hard time.

'Zaimokuza in a speedo! Zaimokuza in a red speedo!' Hachiman repeated the mantra over and over again in his mind and although he would be mentally scared for a sufficient amount of time, he would still be spared from the humiliations of a Saki who would forever be ashamed of him. He couldn't live with that!

Saki duplicated his each and every action and always paid attention to the detail of her strokes without changing the pattern as he had previously advised. She moved upwards and grazed his shoulder blades then moved downwards and swept over his spine before giving a small withering touch to the small of his back, "Hurm~" Hachiman moaned when her fingers digged deeper into his flesh and removed a difficult knot on his lower back.

However Saki was also beginning to wiggle on top of his back and he was feeling a small moisture gather on his…

…And then Saki began to hum a beautiful song from his childhood days, "I wanna be the very best, like no one ever was"…and suddenly Hachiman decided to take matters into 'hand'.

"S-saki, could I ask ya for a favour" he asked in a weak voice.

Saki immediately stopped her massage "Yeah, what do you need?" she asked with a slight bit of worry in her voice.

"…I need to go to the bathroom" Hachiman asked.

Saki sighed before getting off from his back and Hachiman gave a small sigh of relief.

"Was I really that bad?" Saki asked in a broken voice.

"Of course not!" Hachiman said in impatience over the absurdity of the entire situation, "Now turn around I need to get dressed"

"Alright" Saki turned around but then she was struck by the thought, "Why do I need to turn around?"

…And Hachiman vanished. Even his shirt was gone.

'Huh! He ran off just like Taishi' Saki thought with a grimace, "What the hell did I do wrong?" she asked to no one in particular

/

A/N:

Big chapter (3400 + words) but finally got the chapter out…and I have to say writing 8man moaning was difficult. I will have Saki any day of the week.

Again I'm giving you guys the option for the next chapter.

Here are the options:

Option one: Sexy car wash featuring Shizuka

Option two: Haruno gets his revenge on Hachiman (by sensually torturing his through a massage)

Please, pick one

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams


	28. Chapter 28 Double Down

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 28: Double Down

Next day at school, Hikigaya Hachiman found himself keeping a safe distance away from one irate looking Kawasaki Saki. After receiving a heavenly massage from her which resulted in him getting stimulated to a very embarrassing degree, Hachiman had done the safest thing imaginable to his rotten brain and just made a run for it when her back was turned and the nearest exit from that ill fated massage parlour was visible.

Afterwards he had gone home and taken a long, cold shower to ease another form of tension away from his frustrated body. Thankfully for him, Komachi was busy with her homework and paid very little attention to his discomfort which led to him retiring to his bedroom without any further incident.

'Note to self' Hachiman meditated, by resting his tired head over his crossed arms, on top of his school desk, while keeping his rotten dead fish eyes tightly shut, 'I am great at giving massages to other people but when it comes to getting a massage from someone else I develop a very risky bit of problem' he pondered over this assessment for a while before making a small amendment, 'My problem with getting massages is probably limited to the fairer sex although…there might be an exception to this rule', he cracked open one of his eyes and spotted a silver haired boy talking to a couple of his classmate, 'Yes, definitely' he thought wistfully, 'Totsuka can get the same reaction out of me if he ever decides to give me a massage'

"Hehe!" an almost inaudible and creepy laugh escaped his lips and he saw a group of girls led by Sagami Minami, visibly grimace at the sound he produced before moving further away from his desk.

"Urgh! What a creep!" Sagami exclaimed dramatically, "Go jump off a cliff already!" she spat venomously.

Hachiman did not give any visible indication of being offended by her insulting statement and returned to his musings over these latest developments which had been taking place over the course of a few days due to a seemingly failed confrontation with none other than Yukinoshita Haruno which involved him, his club mates and two other girls from his class namely Kawasaki Saki and Miura Yumiko.

"Minami don't be mean!" Hachiman heard Yuigahama from somewhere behind him, surrounded by members of her own more popular and powerful clique, "H-Hikki is not a creep, you know?" Yuigahama said in his defence.

"Don't be such an airhead Yui" Minami chuckled sardonically, "If you don't think he isn't a creep then you clearly need to get your head examined" she further added scathingly.

"You said enough Sagami!" Now Hachiman heard Miura and her voice held such a burning authority which could reduce any of her opponents into ashes, "Apologize to Yui this instant!" she commanded and then to everyone else's surprise added, "…And while you're at it, you better say sorry to my other friend as well" she directed her further with equal amounts of fiery commitment.

"Did you just call this creep your friend?" Sagami asked Miura in a mocking tone and upon getting some kind of visible confirmation from her, Sagami blanched and gave a loud scoff in derision "Wow!" Sagami exclaimed loudly, "You have such low standards these days, don't you?" Sagami said with a cruel smile of her own, "You better be careful now Miura, otherwise you might just lose your precious position from your own so called popular clique" Sagami added bitterly, "Tell me, does Hayato know anything about your new friend?" she added playfully and after seeing the troubled reaction spread across Miura's face, she gave a loud and obnoxious laugh, "Haha! You are losing your touch, Miura" Sagami said gleefully, "Pretty soon you will lose everything you love and cherish, from deep within your heart" Sagami finally turned around to address the person she blamed for everything bad that had happened in her life, "And when that finally happens I will have to say all my thanks to this creep of all people" Minami leaned closer into Hachiman, "You are already imagining that moment aren't you, you perverted creep"

Hachiman finally looked up and faced Sagami although his eyes were more focused slightly above her hunched shoulders.

"Move" Hachiman mumbled simply.

Sagami was slightly taken aback by the warning tone in his voice but within a minute she was able to compose herself, "Oh really? You want me to move?" Sagami asked derisively before further leaning herself into his personal space "Well what are you going to do about it if I don't move, huh?"

Once again Hachiman stared over her shoulders at someone standing behind her back, "Then I will have to tell you that Saki seems to be very pissed at you for some reason" Hachiman said coolly, "And I think she is about to throw some stuff at you" he replied reasonably

"What are you saying?" Sagami asked in bewilderment before turning around to find herself being glared to death by a tall and fierce looking girl with long blue hair who was also rumoured to be a delinquent in this school.

Sagami took a step back in fear and found… a small bag of garbage being emptied over her head… by this furiously enraged girl with a sharp glint in her eyes and a scowl on her lips. However Sagami said to herself that she would not be afraid by such ordinary intimidation tactics.

"What the hell do you think you are doing, um…, um…" Oh God! How could she forget her name at such a critical and life threatening moment like this!

"Her name is Kawasaki Saki" the creep offered from behind her before raising his pair of rotten dead fish eyes to address this irritated delinquent, "Why did you do that Saki?" he asked with a small sigh.

Sagami was slightly shocked at hearing Hikigaya talk to Kawasaki on a first name basis but what was even more surprising was the fact that Kawasaki actually responded to his query without raising any complaints about his sudden over familiarity with her, "Because she's a walking-talking trash bin, that's why" Saki retorted before intruding into Sagami's personal space to further terrorize her, "Watch your mouth ya sissy before I decide to break your jaw" Kawasaki warned with a terrifying scowl on her face, "Showing a little respect won't cost ya a thing, will it?" she asked in an extremely scary voice.

Sagami gave an audible gulp and looked around for any kind of support. Her friends from her clique and her classmates had already begun to distance themselves from this little situation which was bound to escalate and once again she found this creepy loner, sitting silently behind her, responsible for all the problems in her life.

But just when Sagami thought about giving up and retreating to fight another day, she heard the chair screech back and found a certain person finally standing up on both his feet instead of watching silently from his passive position of keeping his head down on the desk.

Hikigaya Hachiman stood to his full height before his entire class and within an instant he had everyone's attention on him. Miura was looking at him while twirling her blonde tresses, Yuigahama was staring at him with a slightly worried face, Saki was watching him for any visible indication to formulate a plan of attack and even Ebina was gawking at him with suppressed passion while entertaining her wild and imaginative shipping endeavours. Meanwhile all the boys in the class held their breath and waited patiently for a huge cat fight to begin amongst several beautiful girls in their class over a seemingly unknown student, displaying certain antisocial behaviours.

Everyone waited… and waited… and waited

…and then Hikigaya Hachiman nonchalantly left the classroom without even saying anything or even giving a backward glance at the tense atmosphere which was created due to his very existence. As expected everyone in his class began to dislike him a little more than before without even considering that just by leaving, Hikigaya had helped to deescalate the situation from worsening any further.

Hachiman wanted to stay away from his class until matters had considerably cooled down so he aimlessly wandered around the school grounds without any particular reason or clear logic. As expected he should have thought this through especially since he was having an extremely bad week and there were more than a couple of people out there, searching for him to settle old scores or to satisfy their very own wants and needs. One of this people was his homeroom teacher Hiratsuka Shizuka… and right now, for some reason, she had caught him by the scruff of his neck and dragged him to a secluded spot to hold a private conversation about the developments which had taken place over the past few days.

"Have you been ignoring me Hachiman?" Shizuka asked with a small scowl on her lips.

"Careful sensei" Hachiman said with a slight hint of worry in his voice, "We are still in school. What if someone overhears us? Then you will be in a lot of trouble and I don't want that" he told her honestly.

"You worry too much Hachiman" Shizuka ignored his worries and continued to address him by his first name, "I already checked the place. There is no one around, so you can stop changing the topic and just answer me straight" she gave him a look full of insecurities and uncertainties, "Have you been ignoring me?"

"Of course not" Hachiman retorted, "We meet every day in class. You take my attendance. Heck, you even punched me in the gut a couple of days ago for being late and that punch of yours hurt more than usual" he complained, "I should be the one asking you whether I have done something to deserve such violent punishments and sudden outburst of anger."

Shizuka had the sense to blush and at least appear apologetic, "Sorry about that" she replied while averting his eyes, "But I was kind of worried when you were late to school that day since the day before we had our…" she gave a small cough and her cheeks became far more redder than thought humanly possible, "…our private study session" Shizuka finally relented by using their very own coined phrase to term that particular day and whatever that later followed that pleasant and beautiful evening which brought a warm heat to her cheeks and made her feel giddy and excited like a high school girl instead of an unmarried female teacher in her mid twenties.

"Well I was held up due to Komachi" Hachiman told her and although he didn't tell her the complete truth, he didn't necessarily tell a complete lie either, "She needed my help with some stuff and I slept pretty late that night"

Shizuka gave him a smug look, "You are such a big pervert~" she cooed happily, "Were you fantasising about me in your sleep Hachiman?" she asked cheekily.

Hachiman blushed and evaded her mirth filled eyes, "N-no, why would I?" he stutter.

Shizuka gave him a cute pout, "Oh how wonderful! You are a pervert as well as a liar~" she said with a small giggle, "I might have given you quite a few sleepless nights haven't I, Hachiman?" she asked haughtily while giving him a look full of pride and arrogance.

Hachiman decided to give a fitting reply, "Congratulations Shizuka! You certainly have me figure out in less than a week." he addressed her by her first name as well and as expected she grew slightly flustered by the sudden change in his tone, "But you should know, I know a lot about you as well" he said in a barely audible voice.

Shizuka inched closer to him and fixed him with her violet gaze, "Oh really?" she asked in a mere whisper, "How well do you know me Hachiman?" she asked while quirking her lips in a secretive smile.

"Close enough" Hachiman murmured

Shizuka gave a small smile, "Easy Romeo" she said evasively, "If you talk like that I will kidnap you for another study session" she said with a heated look in her eyes, "Do you really want that?"

Hachiman gave a dry chuckle, "Of course" he admitted, "I'm a sucker for punishment."

Shizuka gave him a small peck on his cheek before leaving him with a promising farewell, "I will pick you up in my car after you are done with your service club duties" she said while walking back inside the school.

"What an interesting woman" Hachiman thought aloud.

"I think so too Hikigaya kun~" a voice spoke up from behind and within an instant Hachiman found cold sweat forming on his forehead. Her voice was unmistakeably sweet like poisoned honey and promised a slow and tortuous death.

'You are probably hearing things Hachiman' he thought, desperately trying not to turn around.

Hachiman heard her take a couple of steps and before he knew it, he found himself staring into the mischievous eyes of Yukinoshita Haruno. She looked at him with fresh vigour and Hachiman almost felt like she was comparing him to a caged rabbit about to be released for a hunting game, organised for the nobility and the royals…and then he found the moist sensation of a pair of soft, wet lips and the sharp nibble of her teeth on his left earlobe.

"mm~" Haruno moaned, "I like your taste Hikigaya kun" she said in a seductive voice.

Hachiman was rendered speechless both by her mere presence and also by the intimate nature of her action, "Yu-Yukinoshita san" his voice trembled in terror.

Haruno gave a short sugary giggle, "Just because I like you Hikigaya kun, I will give you a headstart" she said in a sweet and melodious voice before it lowered threateningly into an obvious command, "Run Hikigaya kun, Run!"

Needless to say Hachiman didn't really need to be told twice…

…he ran for his life and his left earlobe, bearing her teeth mark and saliva, were instantly filled with her loud laughter which rang an ominous note of his approaching demise.

/

A/N

So big chapter (2400 + words) but no massage or car wash yet…

And that's because both the options received 12 votes each. Can you believe that!

So I am giving you guys another go at this.

This time around I want a clear majority!

Here are your options:

Option one: Sexy car wash featuring Shizuka

Option two: Haruno gets his revenge on Hachiman by sensually torturing him through massage.

Please pick one

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams


	29. Chapter 29 Going Under

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 29: Going Under

Being chased by a beautiful onee-san, especially one such as Yukinoshita Haruno might seem like a glorious dream to a typical high school teenager but to a delusional guy like Hikigaya Hachiman this was nothing more than a nightmare trying in vain to lure him into a false sense of security by playing to his perverted fantasies before swiftly destroying his rotten body and depraved mind with a small twirl of her harmless finger which would leave him paralysed with a memory of her large fake smile across her blood red lips and a small hint of amusement in her amethyst eyes.

'I like your taste Hikigaya kun~' her voice kept repeating in his brain and he winced upon remembering her small yet sharp nibble on his left earlobe which was messing with his ability to come up with a suitable plan of escape from his high school premises.

'I have to take this somewhere else' Hachiman thought gravely, 'Last time was a complete massacre. She was outnumbered five to one! Five to one! And yet she managed to make a complete mockery of us without even giving her full effort' he felt a cold shiver run down his spine, 'And this time she looked…' he felt goose bumps on his skin even thinking about it, '…and this time she looked…positively hungry' Hachiman remembered the suppressed glint in her eyes when their faces were inches away from each other and he also remembered her scent which had somehow latched onto his body.

'She wears a very strong and distinct perfume' Hachiman gave a small whiff, 'I wonder what it is?' he wondered in his mind while walking down a number of corridors inside his school without looking the least bit worried of his impending demise.

'Got to look nondescript' Hachiman repeated to himself, 'Stealth Hikki activated'

"Getting predictable are we, Hikigaya-kun~" Yukinoshita Haruno asked in a singsong voice from behind him and turning around Hikigaya Hachiman found her walking towards him with a certain spring in her steps. She was looking positively giddy!

'This is bad' Hachiman thought, 'This is very, very bad'

"How did you find me Yukinoshita san?" Hachiman asked Haruno while his natural instincts told him to try running from her again but by now his rotten brain had already decided to give up and surrender in a cowardly manner.

"Did you really think I wouldn't find you Hikigaya-kun?" Haruno asked and Hachiman detected a small hint of disappointment in her voice, "I thought you knew me better than this" Haruno replied with a coy smile on her lips.

"Believe me I know better" Hachiman said with a sigh, "I only thought I had a little more time" he replied with a downcast look in his eyes.

"Oh, you needed a little more time! To do what exactly?" Haruno asked with fresh curiosity in her voice, "Do you want to fetch reinforcements? I can wait. Besides, isn't there a saying that goes…" her voice took a devilish drawl, "…the more the merrier," and within a minute her voice regained its previous levity, "Did I say that right, Hachiman?"

"Did you just call me by my first name?" Hachiman asked with a shocked look on his face and a deep blush on his cheeks.

Haruno scoffed, "Maybe, I guess" she replied coolly, "I don't see any other Hachiman walking down this place, do you?" she asked in a playful voice.

'I have to make a stand' Hachiman thought morosely, 'I can't let her walk all over me like this. I need to fight back. Show her, I'm not afraid of her anymore.' His thoughts ran to his lovely homeroom teacher, 'Beside Shizuka already showed me that she is human like the rest of us and susceptible to terror and fear and if I can make Shizuka…' Hachiman blushed despite himself and the tumultuous circumstances, '…if I can make Shizuka… respond to my touch…then maybe I can try the same approach on Haruno' Hachiman looked at Haruno for a moment, made eye contact, held her gaze, and then…she winked and he ended up getting extremely flustered all over again

From then on Hachiman averted her eyes but he was still trying to make himself look a little courageous before her presence, "You can call me whatever you want Yukinoshita san" he emphasised her name, "But don't expect me to call you by your first name" Hachiman stated in a steady voice, "Okay, Yukinoshita san?" he tried to be playful like her as well.

"Oh don't worry Hachiman. I expect nothing less from you" Haruno told him with a smile and a dismissive wave from her hand, "And don't you worry…" her eyes grew darker and dangerous and Hachiman gulped the remainder of his courage down his throat, upon finding her lips hovering beside his left earlobe and hearing her raspy voice reach his sensitive ear, "…pretty soon I will make you scream my name…" Hachiman felt her fingers curl themselves over his tie and he found himself unable to move from her silken hold, with her velvety breath upon his skin and her voice running circles inside his rotten mind, "…pretty soon you will scream my name…in pure blissful pain and agony…" Hachiman felt her aura grow into a tempest, promising him nothing else except disaster and doom…and yet he felt a certain wanting in his heart… a certain fascination in his mind…which was similar to a moth succumbing to a flame…

"Maybe I should grab Komachi-"

"No!"

Haruno was not able to finish her sentence about grabbing his sister Komachi to join them in their escapades because within a blink of an eye Hachiman had made himself free from her hold and was now in fact trying and succeeding in keeping her within his grasp by the strength of both his arms which were deceptively stronger than she expected. 'This is new' Haruno thought.

"Stay away from Komachi" Haruno heard his voice reverberate, deep within her heart and she understood this was a threat which held many deadly promises and many devilish schemes. Hachiman would not hesitate, would never back down, when his sister was involved, not from anyone… not even her.

"Do we have an understanding Haruno?" Hachiman asked, his face inches away from her and Haruno felt his rotten dead fish eyes cloud over in a suppressed emotion of a volatile nature. She heard him call her by her first name and there was nothing endearing about it except there was a deep sense of loathing and disgust. 'What else is new' Haruno thought with a sigh before she felt a small pain on her wrist.

"You are hurting me, Hachiman" Haruno said in an even voice, "I didn't expect this from you"

"I don't care" Hachiman replied with a steely resolve, "You have hurt so many people before and you will continue to hurt many more people in the future" his lips crawled upwards in an ugly sneer, "It's in your nature, Haruno" Hachiman added acidly

"I don't think you understand" Haruno said again and this time she gave a small visible wince of hurt, "You are really hurting me." She lowered her voice and pleaded with a fake whimper, "Please stop, Hachiman"

"Not until I have your word" Hachiman growled and Haruno felt his warm breath reek over her cheeks. Both of them were perilously close and their exchange would appear extremely intimate to any onlooker especially since both of them were talking in a barely audible whisper and trying their best to get into the others personal space. Haruno was winning at first but she made the mistake of dragging his sister into this little skirmish and now she was paying the price.

'I never knew he could be this dominant' Haruno thought with a morbid fascination, 'But then again he is worried about the safety of his younger sister' Haruno closed her eyes to think up a different approach to handle this volatile situation but she had to blink them open when she felt another shot of pain run through her wrists which made her wince, 'This will leave a bruise.' Haruno though with a faint smile

"Don't smile Haruno" Hachiman said while gnashing his teeth in anger, "Promise me! You will not touch a single strand of hair on my Komachi" he declared in a seething whisper.

"Alright already, I will not touch a single hair of your precious Komachi! Sheesh!" Haruno said with mild indifference, "…Now can you let me go?" she added almost in an afterthought.

"Let you go?" Hachiman trailed off and that's when he realised how close he was to Haruno and what he was exactly doing to her throughout this entire conversation…he was holding her wrists in such a strong vice grip that the skin around her wrist was burning up and slowly beginning to turn red. 'What have I done!' Hachiman thought in horror, 'How could I do such a horrible thing!'

Within an instant Hachiman let go of her wrist as if Haruno had burned off his fingers and he took a couple of steps back to provide her with a modicum of respect and security from his vile being, 'Sagami was right' Hachiman thought, 'I am a creep'

"I'm sorry for hurting you Yukinoshita san" Hachiman apologized with every ounce of sincerity he could produce, "I don't know what came over me…I…I…I am very sorry" he mumbled with his head lowered before her very presence.

Haruno flashed him a ginger smile, "Don't worry Hachiman" she replied while rubbing her wrists to kick start the circulation back into her reddening wrists, "I don't think it will leave a bruise"

Haruno kept her eyes focused on his wrists and lost in her thoughts she did not see Hachiman, stealthily approaching her and by the time she raised her head to meet his gaze, he was already standing before her…and he once again took a hold of her wrists.

Haruno had half a mind of swatting his hand away from her small and delicate wrists, she would not let him have the physical advantage over her and she would not wince in such a terrified fashion upon this close proximity. 'I'm better than this' Haruno chided herself, 'I could have him eating from my palms if I want…I can't let him…' but her thoughts came to an abrupt pause after feeling a strange and comforting sensation over her wrists once again.

"What are you doing?" Haruno asked Hachiman whose eyes were resting upon her hands. He was using his fingers and making small circles over the strained skin which was soothing away the hurt and making her experience a calm and tranquil moment amidst her chaotic and troubling life full of ulterior motives and grand schemes to quench her own needs of amusement while also looking out for the best interest of her family.

"Sorry" Hachiman mumbled again before removing his hands from her and she gave a small pout at his rescinding touch, "This won't happen again Yukinoshita san" he said with a deep hurt in his voice which Haruno found very much authentic and that very fact made him more interesting in her eyes.

"…I'm, I'm" Hachiman was lost and he couldn't string words together anymore and he was feeling far worse when Haruno was looking at him with a certain distant look in her eyes which were no longer glinting with amusement and enthusiasm… and an underlying benevolence and an undercurrent of mischievousness. 'Focus Hachiman! Focus!'

"I was…I was…" Hachiman croaked in a shaky voice, "Me…doing that…to you…to you…" his face lost his colour and his voice began to break in an incorrigible mumble, "…so, so…"

"Frightening" Haruno supplied with a small quirk of her lips, "You were so frightening Hachiman" she repeated in a jovial voice which seemed sugary sweet and yet he felt like being slapped upon hearing her utter those words.

"Y-yes" Hachiman nodded his head. Nothing else escaped from his chapped lips and dry throat. He was patiently waiting for Haruno to take her revenge on him and then he felt it… her thumb and index finger tilting his face downwards and bringing it to her level.

"Let's frighten each other some more Hachiman" Haruno replied, running one of her fingers over his lips, feeling them quiver at her gentle touch, at her mistaken display of serenity, "I have to hold up my end of the bargain as well" Haruno brought her lips dangerously close to his but she had an uncanny presence of mind and even though both their lips were within an inch of each other, she was not letting them touch, not letting him taste this delectable, forbidden fruit.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Hachiman asked careful not to breach any unspoken boundaries but Haruno was making this needlessly difficult with her blood red lips, hovering sinisterly over his without landing on his rough and dry, chapped pair of lips which were slowly parting due to his heavy and troubled breathing.

Haruno gave Hachiman a devilish smile and withdrew from his face but her slender fingers remained intertwined with his calloused ones and she had the strength of making him follow her with only a seductive sway of her hips and a distinct click from her heels.

"If you really want to know then you will have to come with me" Haruno said in a voice full with layers upon layers of guile and misdirection, "I don't think you have ever been to my place" she further added in an ominous note and then…she licked her lips and he was gone "You will love it, Hachiman~"

…And just like that Hikigaya Hachiman became the architect of his own destruction.

/

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to LyingHiki. You are one of a kind my friend!

Congratulations! Haruno massage/revenge route selected!

Sorry for the long delay…but life happened…Anyway I'm back now and hopefully I will continue writing. Now this was a long chapter (2400+ words) and Haruno lovers rejoice! Because the next two chapters ('Growing Pain' and 'Pressure Points') will also be featuring Haruno and Hachiman! And it will be hot!

Now, I have already written Haruno before in this story. But I would like to get everyone's opinion over her next portrayal.

So, here are the options:

Option one: Haruno as Joker from Dark Knight (Heath Ledger version)

Option two: Haruno as Sharon Stone from Basic Instinct (YouTube the interrogation scene for reference!)

Please, pick one

Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams


	30. Chapter 30 Growing Pains

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 30: Growing Pains

Being brought home by a gorgeous onee-san, especially one such as Yukinoshita Haruno might seem a very bold and audacious move to most high school students but to Hikigaya Hachiman this was nothing less than pure torture with a promise of a prolonged suffering followed by a brutal death.

Hachiman had already felt his torments begin during their bus ride to her home where he found himself sitting awfully close to Haruno. She was unspeakably cruel while acting coy with a knowing smile on her plum lips. A crowded bus helped her along in her endeavour to unnerve him and soon she found a way to have both of them share physical contact on a frequent basis.

Hips joined, knees touching, shoulders brushing and on a particularly bumpy stretch of road Hachiman would find Haruno reaching for his hand and he allowed her to intertwine their fingers without any protests.

'Let's frighten each other some more Hachiman~' her voice intruded his memory and Hachiman felt himself growing unnaturally stiff when they finally arrived at her apartment and Haruno smoothly opened the door and let themselves in after exchanging a devilish smile with him which he failed to return and ended up looking like a complete moron.

'I really am an idiot' Hachiman repeated over and over again in his mind, 'I mean what was I even thinking? Or maybe I wasn't thinking at all. Yukinoshita Haruno just brought me to her home, her home! And I just went along with her without any protest, whatsoever!' he watched her turning the keys and locking the door with the faintest of clicks reaching his sensitive ears, 'And now I'm trapped, with nowhere to go' he grimaced at this dreadful situation.

"Why are you locking the door Yukinoshita san?" Hachiman asked bravely.

Haruno turned around and gave him her best, winning smile, "For safety purposes of course" she said glibly, "This way no one can come in and…" she fixed him with a heated stare, "…and no one can get out"

Hachiman watched Haruno while she gave him a knowing look, jingled her keys before him in a teasing manner and then…casually pulled down the collar of her floral blouse and dropped the keys deep inside her clothed confines, presumably keeping them tucked away safely between her brassier cupped breasts. His pair of rotten dead fish eyes, stared openly at her devious figure while she performed this mundane task with practiced ease while knowing she had an audience gawking at her in a shameless manner. Her eyes fixed him with a heated gaze and Hachiman found himself revealing one of his most newly learnt secrets of a very scandalous nature in a barely audible whisper.

"…red lace" Hachiman mumbled beneath his breath.

Haruno gave Hachiman a seductive smile while she played with her blouse in a telling manner and gently pulled at the hem of this smooth fabric to further emphasis her well endowed figure, "Was there any doubt Hachiman~" she cooed in a sugary voice.

'What else does she keep in there?' Hachiman thought curiously before his mind started drifting and making comparisons of an unlikely nature, 'What if…what if…she actually uses padding to make them look bigger than they really are?' he secretly stole a look at her direction before averting his eyes, 'No, no, no, not possible! Those seem real enough' he spared a single sorry thought for his service club president, 'That poor girl! Her elder sister is only fooling her into believing she is flat-chested. Maybe…this isn't about genetics at all!' Hachiman closed his eyes and entered into a contemplative state, 'It's all about padding!' he decided before giving a small creepy grin while thinking about a certain older woman 'Without a doubt, Shizuka-sensei is the real deal!' he proclaimed silently and opened his dead fish eyes…only to find them staring directly below into a pair of large breasts which belonged to one Yukinoshita Haruno

"If I didn't know any better I would say you were thinking something incredibly deep over my breasts" Haruno said in a cheerful voice, "So tell me, am I wrong…" she added while invading his personal space and continuing to move unbearably close to him, until both their bodies were almost touching and for a small instance he perhaps imagined her lightly brushing her chest into his side before she said those horrifying words which proved to him that everything which was happening around him was incredibly real, "…or are you just happy to feel them rub against your shirt" she mumbled in a wispy whisper, looking deep into his eyes, while remaining pretentiously oblivious to the close proximity which they currently shared inside this seemingly empty apartment.

His rotten brain failed to come up with a proper response and Hachiman decided to improvise with a small piece of truth which had been bugging him for a while, "I-I was just wondering why you keep your keys in your…in your…" Hachiman began to repeat himself in fear after realising the next word that he had to utter in order to complete this horrifying sentence which could very well result in him getting butchered on this very spot.

"…in my…in my… what? Bra?" Haruno mocked him with a small chuckle, "It's not a bad word Hachiman! You can use it in any sentence you like~" she said while giving a small laugh, "Ha Ha! But try not to say it in front of Yukino-chan, alright?" she said in good humour while giving him a suitable reason "Because she might actually end up killing you over it! Ha Ha! And now that I really think about it that would be incredibly hilarious! Oh I could die laughing just by picturing the whole thing happening in my head! Ha ha! ha ha!" Haruno laughed at his discomfort while Hachiman bristled by his lonesome.

'I heard her laughing like this before' Hachiman thought while looking back at a random memory, 'It was during a student council meeting regarding the sport festival proceedings. She really had a laugh over my idea for the motto…it's a nice laugh' he looked at Haruno, clutching her sides to control her laughter, 'I wonder if it's fake' he grimaced at another memory in which she had manipulated Sagami into a terrible spot.

"I hardly think it's that funny, Yukinoshita san" Hachiman mumbled while trying to retain his composure, "You can stop laughing already." He was actually surprised by the courage he was currently showing before her very presence, 'Am I insane or what?' he mentally chided himself

"Alright, alright, I will stop laughing" Haruno gave another small chuckle before removing a single tear drop from her eyes.

'Guess, her laugh is real after all. Those are hard to fake' Hachiman presumed after seeing Haruno slightly dab at her eyes, 'These sisters are more alike than they think and both of them take extra enjoyment out of making me feel miserable' he visibly grimaced, 'Why am I not even surprised?' he asked himself.

"Now back to answering your perverted question, Hachiman" Haruno said sweetly while trying to return his attention back onto her, "'Why do I keep my keys in my bra~'" she repeated his question again to evaluate his reaction and as expected she was instantly rewarded with a glimpse of his blushing cheeks. 'He looks adorable~' Haruno cooed silently in her mind before deciding to further embarrass him by actually answering his question, "Its simple really" Haruno said in a matter of fact voice, "I keep them here…" she gently patted her breasts for a very much unneeded emphasis, "…so that I can find them very easily and also so that I can stop worrying about misplacing them every other minute when I am out in the streets and away from home"

Hachiman gave her a puzzled look, "I don't really follow" he said in a clearly confused voice.

Haruno sighed, "Of course you don't" she scoffed, "You're a guy" she said with a rather frustrated look on her face which made Hachiman grow incredibly displeased over his own gender and masculinity. 'Why couldn't I be born a girl?' he thought miserably, 'Things could have been so different, so much better! Komachi could have had a great onee-chan instead of a stupid gomi-chan like me!' he lowered his head in a silent prayer, 'Screw being a bear! In the next life I want to be a girl' he stated vehemently in his mind.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Hachiman asked while trying to sound reasonable yet understanding, "You can keep your keys in your pockets or…or…in your bags" he said rather stupidly

"Wow! Sometimes…sometimes… even you can be an idiot Hachiman" Haruno told him with a small sigh in an insulting manner which was oddly reminiscent of her younger sister, Yukinoshita Yukino "These pants I'm wearing don't have pockets and about the other thing…have you ever looked inside a woman's bag before?" she asked while already knowing the answer beforehand.

"No" Hachiman said simply while shaking his head, "That would be rude…and probably punishable by death"

"Absolutely correct" Haruno replied with a small nod of agreement, "But if you were rude and not afraid of death then you would have known that within a woman's bag lies a bottomless treasure cove containing millions and millions of artefacts of a very mysterious and secretive nature which can never be discovered during a moment of crisis" she gave him an extremely serious look, "Hence its tantamount to sheer stupidity to keep belongings of such importance like keys in a women's bag unless you want them to be forever lost and never be found again by another living soul in this entire realm!"

Hachiman kept unnaturally silent while hearing her explanation but after she was finished giving her difficult lecture, he only had one thought running in his rotten brain, 'Wow!" he exclaimed mentally, 'Even Yukinoshita Haruno can sound like Yukinoshita Yukino sometimes.' But then he deconstructed her statement further and he discovered a very shocking secret, '…but somehow…somehow…her choice of vocabulary carried an underlying current of Shizuka-sensei's voice and her over exaggerated antics' Hachiman immediately became aware of this seemingly innocent situation which had a very sinister motive, 'She is testing me…trying to make me spill some secrets which she can later use as leverage' he schooled his expression and gave her a bland look of indifference, '…And I almost fell for it.' He chided himself, 'You are such an idiot Hachiman'

"What happened Hachiman? All of a sudden, you are being extremely quiet for no reason" Haruno asked abruptly, once again capturing his attention with an artificial smile, "Tell me, didn't you like my impression of my dear Yukino-chan? Hmm?" Haruno subtly tried to invade his mental boundaries.

"Not at all Yukinoshita-san" he replied coolly "Moreover I don't think that you were doing an impression of your younger sister just now" Hachiman said in a definitive manner without trying to shed any extra light on the subject.

"Right again Hachiman! I was not mimicking Yukino-chan, at all!" Haruno said in a congratulatory voice before it lowered into a conspiratorially soft murmur, "But do you know the woman I was impersonating, right now?" Haruno asked while already knowing the fact that Hachiman would refrain from giving her a proper reply to her seemingly innocent query.

"No I do not" Hachiman said in an even voice.

Haruno waited for a moment and within that moment Hachiman saw her giving him a small glimpse of her true self. Her eyes turned cold, her smile became cruel and her entire physical aura faded from bright sunny rays to a chilly arctic breeze.

"Well played my dear Hachiman" Haruno said in a voice which made shivers run down his spine. She invaded his private space again and dared him to take a step back but this time around Hachiman was not nearly stupid enough to rebuke her attempts for closure.

Hence he stood his ground and slowly he found her grazing one, manicured nail across his right cheek, "This is why I find you so interesting" Haruno said in an unsettling voice, "And so does Shizuka-chan apparently" she said in a rather dismissive fashion.

Hachiman stared into her distant, cold eyes and she moved closer and closer to his ashen face. Only a few inches separated their faces from each other, their lips from each other, and at this extremely volatile moment, Haruno said only one word which sent him reeling into an abyss of his own creation:

"Boo!"

…And Hachiman tumbled backwards, lost his footing and fell on the hard floor in a valid display of shock and surprise which ended with him actually getting physically hurt over her wanton desire for getting thoroughly entertained by his miserable and sorry plight.

"That really hurt" Hachiman groused while trying to sit up on the floor. He looked up and saw Haruno looking down at him with a cheeky smile on her face.

"Sorry Hachiman" Haruno apologized without an ounce of regret flashing on her face, "But the look on your face was worth it!" She gave a soft giggle before finally glancing at a clock in her living room, "Well, would you look at the time!" Haruno exclaimed in an over exaggerated manner, "Time really flies when you are having fun with someone special" she said in a casual voice before her eyes turned overtly mischievous while looking at a certain door, "Well I don't know about you, but I had a very long day and I know just the thing that will help me unwind for the night" her voice contained only happiness and delight when she uttered those fateful words:

"Bubble bath, it is" Haruno mumbled more to herself than anyone else with a wishful smile on her face.

But then Haruno looked at him and gave him an extremely naughty wink before saying those final words which almost gave Hachiman a near fatal heart attack:

"Care to join me, Hachiman?"

/

A/N:

I'm so sorry everyone. Firstly for the delay but at least it's a big chapter (2500+ words) I had a rough week but I counted all the votes! 'Shizuka's Carwash' lost by one vote. One vote! So I took the Haruno route… because I'm patient enough to actual count and I also incredibly like Haruno! I'm very sorry for everyone who voted for the Shizuka route since now I can't do the 'Carwash' chapter anymore…well at least not yet. But in order to make amends I have a small treat in mind for all Shizuka fans! But don't worry, Haruno fans will also be delighted! As always the choice is yours.

Here are the options for the next chapter:

Option One: Bubble bath with Haruno (Present)

Option two: Shower with Shizuka (Flashback)

Please, pick one

Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams


	31. Chapter 31 Shizuka's Shower

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 31: Shizuka's Shower

Hikigaya Hachiman was incredibly grateful for his homeroom teacher Hiratsuka Shizuka for saving him, his club mates and a couple of his classmates from the sinister being simply known as Yukinoshita Haruno and afterwards when his irate looking sensei had asked him for a very simple favour, namely a full body massage, he had agreed to her request without giving any thought to her outrageous demands.

However Hachiman realised his mistake soon enough when he found himself standing in her bedroom, waiting for Shizuka to undress and slip into a more suitable piece of apparel to avail his massage and as expected of his rotten luck, his sensei decided to worsen his troubles by choosing to wear nothing except for a small, snug towel which left very little to his perverted imaginations.

After taking in her alluring appearance Hachiman gathered his courage and asked Shizuka to lie down on her bed, to better accommodate his relaxing ministrations over her exposed back and bare legs. Shizuka obliged him while Hachiman helped her along. His hands, his fingers glided over her skin bringing her comfort but her luscious voice, her deep sighs, her heavy moans, proved to be his downfall and her awakening.

A virgin teenager like him was embarrassed by this entire situation but his lovely sensei was extremely understanding and considerate and had spared him from further humiliation by asking him to avail her bathroom for any purpose which he might currently desire.

Hachiman blushed at her words but he swiftly took care of his growing pains and kept his voice low to only a small occasional groan. After completion he cleaned after himself and returned her bathroom to its previous sanctity without carrying any scents or smells of a certain hormonal teenager.

"Hikigaya are you…done?" Shizuka had questioned from her bedroom, her voice sounded extremely embarrassed even though she tried to hide it by channelling her mature woman persona.

"Y-yeah" Hachiman replied, "I-it's all clean now" he had told her with a slight stutter in his voice.

"Good, very good" Shizuka repeated absentmindedly before asking in an incredibly shy voice, "…um, is it alright for me to take a shower there?" she had asked him in a timid voice, almost scared to hear his reply.

"I think so" Hachiman said, "I mean the floor is clean and…" he was having a difficult time explaining such activities to his sensei especially since she was the very reason for his downfall in the first place.

"T-thanks Hikigaya" Shizuka had told him, "…and sorry for…you know" she trailed off in embarrassment.

"Yeah, I know" Hachiman replied with a small sigh, "You can use the shower sensei. It won't be a problem. Everything is clean and…spotless"

"…you really didn't need to say that Hikigaya" Shizuka groused and Hachiman heard her shuffle noiselessly around in her bedroom "…I know you can be very…thorough" she said with a small teasing tone in her voice.

"…You didn't complain sensei" Hachiman retorted, "In fact you were guiding me and telling me what to do throughout the entire… massage" he said with a small blush on his face.

"It was a good massage, don't get me wrong" Shizuka replied immediately, "But I never expected such a… surprise…in the end" she was trying to be very careful while discussing these matters with her.

"Why should it be a surprise?" Hachiman asked with a small scoff in his voice, "Like you said it was a…normal reaction and…" he failed to complete this sentence due to lack of courage.

"…and what Hikigaya?" Shizuka prodded him to finish his sentence and much to his chagrin he gave in to her demands like always.

"…and you are a very beautiful woman, sensei" Hachiman said in a clear voice devoid of any embarrassment or stuttering.

Hachiman heard her footsteps coming in from behind and he turned around just in the nick of time to spot her towel clad figure and even though he had seen her like this before, on top of her bed, with that towel lowered over her hips, her feminine body resting below his presence, quivering before him, to his every touch and responding with such a moaning voice that made most men come unhinged like he had today on a previous occasion.

"Am I really beautiful Hikigaya?" Shizuka asked and what surprised Hachiman more was the genuine sense of enquiry in her voice. She was really unsure of herself and much to his shock had certain body image issues as well.

"O-of course" Hachiman had mumbled, "Of course you are beautiful sensei. What made you think otherwise?"

Shizuka clutched the towel closer to her chest and averted his eyes, "There are plenty of beautiful women in this world Hikigaya and most of them are better than me…younger than me" her voice sounded extremely hurt.

"What I think you are referring to are normal high school girls sensei and they are the worst kind of evil on this earth. Source: Me" Hachiman explained, "and what you call young is just another word for plain immaturity."

"You are just sugar coating the bitter truth Hikigaya" Shizuka mumbled, "I admire your effort but it doesn't change the truth in any way." She looked at him with a sad smile, "You know quite a lot of this young women, don't you Hikigaya?" she had asked him with a curious smile, "Do you like any of them?" she had asked him further.

"I'm not so sure sensei" Hachiman had said with a sigh, "…I mean I don't dislike them and these days I don't always find them annoying anymore, so…I don't know what to think about them" he had told her with a small shrug of his shoulders.

"So basically you remain undecided" Shizuka complained, "Well you still have a lot of time on your hand. Make good use of it and come to a decision" she had told him, "…what you currently have is not healthy on a long term basis, you know" she had informed him with a serious look in her eyes.

"I know that" Hachiman said before he decided to change the topic "And you should not compare yourself to them sensei because you are already on a very higher level to them."

Shizuka scoffed, "You are just saying that"

"No I'm not" Hachiman said, "Take this situation for example. If this was anyone else, any of those girls, let it be Yukinoshita or Yuigahama, then I guarantee you that they would be extremely grossed out over the entire incident and they would not even think for a second about my painful condition" he argued, "Yukinoshita would have insulted me and called me names and Yuigahama would probably be so embarrassed by it that she might probably turn herself into a stone statue or worse…she might actually text people and ask them for advice on how to deal with me during this sensitive moment of time"

Shizuka winced after hearing his reasonable arguments over the probable course of action which might have been undertaken by his club mates if they were here instead of her, "Wow, you have given this some thought Hikigaya. Your assumptions are mostly accurate, I think" After saying this Shizuka realised she was being a horrible teacher by making unknown assumptions about her students but right now she was not exactly in a caring mood. Her only interest was in having Hachiman talk her through this surreal experience and make her feel better and not guilty over anything which happened today.

"What about Miura and Kawasaki" Shizuka asked tentatively while moving closer to Hachiman who remained oblivious to her approach

"They would have killed me on the spot" Hachiman said instantly, "And let me tell you, my death would have been very brutal and torturous in the end. There might not even have been a body left to discover"

Shizuka chuckled, "You sure have everything figured out Hikigaya" she said, "But perhaps you never thought about your old homeroom teacher"

Hachiman gave her a knowing look, "Sometimes I thought about you as well" he admitted, "But today I saw you in a new light"

"And now you think I am a pervert who likes to get massages from her high school students, right?" Shizuka asked bitterly.

"…I don't think so sensei otherwise there would have been a huge rumour spreading along the school a long time ago" Hachiman said, "What I think is that for some reason you trusted me" he dared to say, "Is that correct?" he asked.

"Yes I trust you Hikigaya" Shizuka admitted, "You have proven yourself over and over again and this time was no different."

"And just like that, you have also made yourself very trustful sensei" Hachiman replied, "…You could have been easily disgusted with me or made fun of me…but you were very understanding and helped me escape from your bedroom when the massage was becoming unbearable…and you even let me use your bathroom" he looked at her in the eyes and tried to give a small smile, "Only you are capable of such kindness sensei"

Shizuka blushed, "Well you are kind as well Hikigaya" she gave a small cough, "And you were also a proper gentleman"

Hachiman blushed, "Yeah, I, um… I guess I tried"

Shizuka chuckled and moved closer to her bathroom door and with her hand on the door knob she gently turned her head sideways and gave him a small peck on his cheek which left him with an odd tingling sensation which felt extremely…nice.

"Do you want to wash my back Hikigaya" Shizuka asked with a blushing face while opening the door to her bathroom. Then she turned around and gave him a saucy smile, "…and maybe…just maybe…this time around you don't have to be such a gentleman" Shizuka stared into his eyes and Hachiman found himself holding her gaze when she said those final words of invitation.

"Care to join me, Hikigaya" Shizuka had said back then

"Care to join me, Hachiman?" Haruno asked just now.

Hikigaya Hachiman found himself reeling back into this present situation with none other than Yukinoshita Haruno of all people inviting him for a bubble bath. But this time around he was not feeling entirely safe and secure in her presence, in this empty apartment which was very different from the place where his sensei lived and needless to say he preferred Shizuka over Haruno any day of the week. But he had to give a proper response to her query.

"…um" and his rotten brain failed him yet again.

Truly, Hikigaya Hachiman was doomed for today and there was no one else coming to save him from this horrible situation.

Moreover he had to give Haruno an answer.

"…um" but that's all Hachiman could say for now.

/

A/N

Thank you for choosing 'Showering Shizuka'…I really wanted to write the massage and the shower scene but I got scared because of the rating system. Always have to keep that in mind…I'm walking on thin ice as it is. Still it was a good chapter (1900+words), I think. Also I haven't written anything about Miura lately. Can't have that! But as always the choice is yours

Here are the options for the next chapter

Option one: Bubble bath with Haruno (Present)

Option two: Miura admits her feelings about Hachiman (Elsewhere)

Please, pick one

Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams


	32. Chapter 32 Miura's Admission

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 32: Miura's Admission

Long fingers left a sizzling trail down her soft flesh, burning her insides by their ghostly touch and feathering her skin into bearing small goose bumps. Beginning innocently at her shoulders, then daringly travelling lower, landing on her thin waist, running around her firm hips before coming dangerously close to caress her bare thighs, his languishing feel seared her senses and moistened her lips. Her breathing grew strained, her breasts heaved anxiously and she felt his rough but warm rasp of breath closer to her ears, making her burn up in anticipation.

"You are beautiful Miura" he swore, almost inaudibly in her ears, and she felt herself blushing red and sagging into his soothing touch. His words of compliment, simple yet elegant, bore truth and she found herself forever pleased to have his undivided attention upon her unguarded form. Hearing him, this close, this natural, this open, made her blush and she wanted him to do nothing else but compliment her more and within a passing minute, as if almost telepathically, he must have read her mind and repeated himself once again to her, "You really are, you know"

She looked upto his dark eyes which she had once mistakenly compared to those of a rotten dead fish but she had corrected her earlier mistake rather quickly and by now she only found them swimming with unbridled passion for her and she could not help but gulp down her worries and give a small audible gasp of pleasure at his absent minded ministrations down her long neck, "Th…thank you, Hikio"

A satisfied half smirk appeared on his often expressionless features and he slowly wrapped one of his hands skilfully into her blonde tresses, always careful not to tug at her hair and cause her discomfort. He was always gentle and caring with her, rewarding her with small pecks and playful nips, on her plum lips and lovely skin, keeping his eyes only on her at these shared moments of profound intimacy. Growing weak by relaxing into his lazy kisses, her lips parted to give a small easy sigh at finding herself in his assuring arms.

"Do you love me Miura?" he asked breathlessly, staring deep into her emerald eyes searching for a never known buried truth.

Miura smiled upto him and gave a shy nod of acknowledgement, "I love you Hikio!" she said, "I love you so much!"

Emboldened by her proclamation of love he dived into her and their lips met each other in a passionate kiss full of vehemence and fervour. Keeping her eyes closed, she selfishly kissed him back and returned his feelings without a care in the world. At this moment only two people mattered and everyone else could just leave them the hell alone. Delightfully invigorating, this kiss cemented their relationship and slowly nudged them to take a tumultuous step forward.

He disentangled his hands from her blonde tresses and gently took hold of her knees, adjusting a little, to make her more comfortable, he pulled gently, to bring her intimately close to his body and getting his intentions she wrapped her ankles around him in an instant, trapping him in her lascivious clutches. A loud moan escaped her moist lips when he bucked his hips forward upon her and he gave an involuntary loud groan of delight over this delightful position in which both their bodies were slowly beginning to align by every passing moment, "Are you sure about this Miura?" he rasped in a throaty whisper, heavy with subdued passion.

Miura blushed and gently nodded her head, "…I-I am sure Hikio…"

Upon hearing her positive remark of encouragement, a wide grin spread across his seemingly expressionless features, which were now swimming with a lustful spirit of ambiguity. She felt his arms, which were supporting her weight, gently bringing her down to a more horizontal position and within a few minutes of careful wonderment she found him, slowly and carefully, lowering his own body upon her slim frame. One of his palms gently pawed her hips in support and she sagged comfortably in his hold, "I will make you feel loved Miura" he declared against her neck, planting a steady line of kisses over her entire vocal column.

Miura grew bold after hearing his statement and afterwards she gently nudged one of her knees against his groin, making him give an abrupt yelp in surprise. She smirked at him and reached up to unbutton his shirt, "Let me help you out a little too Hikio"

A small nod from him gave her the much needed permission and slowly she began to remove his shirt. She marvelled upon glancing at his bare chest and when she gently placed her lips against his skin, she felt him grow entirely still and almost frigid. For a moment she was worried, but then she found herself brought down on her back, with him and his lips, almost devouring her of her last remnants of sensibilities. Bliss was all she knew…

…and then darkness

'Not again', Miura groaned inaudibly after waking up from another one of her daydreams about a certain rotten dead fish eyed loner from her class. Unsurprisingly enough, she had fallen asleep on her desk, once again, during a break time, in their hectic, high school schedule.

She had been having trouble sleeping due to these incessant fantasies of her, which had caused her many sleepless nights at home and hence made her fall asleep, much to her horror, during school hours, while in the middle of class, amongst all her peers and classmates and…Him.

No one dared to make a comment over her sudden change of sleeping schedule and even if someone was stupid enough to say something, then they would have to face her blazing fire queen persona, which again, was an imaginary creation, concocted by this creepy creature, who was bedevilling her dreams, without even being aware of the kind of effect that he had on her nowadays, much to her embarrassment and disappointment.

Much to her fear and horror, during her mostly infrequent interactions with him, she was growing more self aware of herself which was leading to many an awkward and uncomfortable situations. Moreover, after discovering her newfound interest in him, she had come to take notice, that she had grown rather distant in her attachments and interactions with members of her own clique, including her once unrequited love for the charming and ever handsome Hayama Hayato. Surely, she was going completely crazy, if she was beginning to have erotic fantasies about Hikigaya Hachiman instead of Hayama Hayato… despite not having any residual feelings for him anymore… And to make her problems far worse than they already were, she had to act like everything was fine with her and hence she had to treat both these guys like she was used to previously deal with them before she had finally made any sense of her complicated feelings. Thus, she had to fawn over Hayato and, much to her dislike, she had to scorn at Hikio. Clearly, she was having the time of her life!

Miura slowly lifted her head up from her desk and took out her phone to check the time. She sighed in relief when she realised that she had fallen asleep for only twenty minutes and hence not many people would take a more than normal notice of her tiredness during their free time. School hours were far from over and she had to deal with club activities afterwards. She took a deep sigh and went back to rest on her desk…much like a certain rotten dead fish eyed loner.

Miura woke up with a start. She would not fall asleep again and think about him. Glancing at her classroom, she saw him absent from his desk, as usual. During free time he generally goes out to buy food and canned coffee that serves as his food during lunch time. She often wonders how he survives an entire day of school with only that measly amount of food in his stomach…now she realised that she was almost stalking him like a psychotic fan girl. She shook her head to clear these disturbing thoughts.

She was not obsessed over a guy like him. In fact, she could have any guy she wants, right now! If she batted her eyelashes at them and asked them to take her out for coffee, then every guy in this school would kill each other to grasp this golden opportunity with both their perverted hands!

Of course, Hayato and Hikio were different and their circumstances were unusual to say the least.

Still…she was better than this. After all, she was smart, beautiful and had a goddess like body, which made every guy fall madly in love with her and if it weren't for her haughty and feared attitude, then she would have to beat her admirers with a broom on a daily basis, to stop them from falling on her feet and confessing their undying feelings for her in loud proclamations and poetic letters. Also, she happened to be the undisputed queen of Sobu High, with one of the most famous and popular cliques, kept constantly on her beck and call. If she wanted, she could even have Hayato sent away to bring her a fresh can of lemon juice…but she was fair and just and she valued her friends more than just using them like hired stooges.

…Not that He cared about that

Despite everything she had and everything she could have, there was one such object of interest which forever remained elusive from her spoiled grasp and this certain person of interest was none other than their very own resident loner, Hikigaya Hachiman.

…I love him.

She was certain she would die out of embarrassment before having her feelings conveyed to him in loud and coherent words or more likely someone else might capture his heart and leave her to wallow in her own misery at her inability to swallow her pride and gather up her courage to grab him by his collar and kiss him senseless… like she did in many of her nightly fantasies.

Unfortunately, Hikio saw her as nothing more than an intimidating annoyance. After helping her with her request to figure out about Hayato's preferred line of study, he seemed a little more aware of her dilemmas and considered her more or less a fellow sufferer of youth, as he liked to say, but afterwards, her attempts to strike up a conversation with him had always resulted in him growing wary over her each and every word. Hence, she had to revert to her usual attitude towards him and much to her amazement, he seemed awfully alright with her treating him like dirt.

Outwardly, Hikio was not a guy she would ever even consider to make friends with…let alone fall head over heels in love with him. He was creepy looking and boring to have around, not really handsome and not at all charming, not to mention, he had those rotten dead fish eyes which made him appear scary and menacing…but those same eyes often twinkled with a mischievous idea to solve a difficult request brought towards his attention. He might not appear good looking at a first glance but upon a closer look, he seemed rather distinctive and commanded a type of mystery aura around him which made everyone hold their breath and notice him, while he made a proper plan of action for everyone else to follow. He was also a gentleman and had an odd sense of chivalry and he was extremely dependable and selfless… and capable of hurting himself for the good of others, even those who had once made fun of him…like her.

Simply put, Hikigaya Hachiman was a bundle of contradictions.

…And she was in love with him.

A small scowl spread across her beautiful features at this thought but there was no way she could deny it without calling herself mad. By some horrible twist of fate she had fallen in love with the last person she expected and now these feeling were beginning to make her act unnaturally before everyone and if she didn't find a way to hide her true feelings from revealing themselves at importune moments then…she would lose many things.

'Are those things really important to begin with?' Miura thought with a wistful smile before her glossy emerald eyes began to search for a certain dead fish eyed loner responsible for all her present worries and woes.

'Where the hell is Hikio?' Miura thought angrily and almost everyone in her class, subconsciously moved away from her side to protect themselves from her fiery wrath.

…Meanwhile… Elsewhere… In a seemingly empty apartment, far away from Sobu High, a certain dead fish eyed loner was currently cowering before a beautiful and sadistic onee-san and almost suddenly this miserable excuse of a human being was seized with a sudden urge to sneeze rather violently.

"Aachoo!" Hachiman blew his nose and Haruno slowly backed away from him with a wary look in her eyes. If he had a cold then she didn't want to catch it from him but she was not easily deterred in her approach.

"Why did you sneeze Hachiman?" Haruno asked with a smile, "Are you allergic to something?"

Hachiman took a deep breath through his nose, "…I don't think so" he mumbled in a small voice.

Haruno gave him a delectable smile, "Then perhaps someone is thinking about you" she said with a sugary giggle, "I wonder who it is?" She swayed her hips while moving closer to him again, "Maybe it's Gahama-chan or…" she gave an evil whisper, "…or maybe it's Yukino-chan" her smile grew larger.

Hachiman gave her a look of disbelief, "What are you talking about?" but then his rotten brain began to manufacture a way to use this recent development to his advantage, "Haruno-san, I think I'm coming down with a cold" Hachiman stated while giving a few fake coughs, "I think I should get going otherwise you will get ill as well" he said while trying to sound completely diseased.

"Nice try Hachiman" Haruno said, "Very cute" she added further, "…but a warm bath is just what you need to get rid of your cold" she said with a small pout, "Doctor's orders" she said rather firmly, "Or would you rather listen to a nurse? Hmm?" Haruno brought her face unbearably close to his, "Do you want me to wear a nurse's uniform while I give you a sponge bath, Hachiman~" she cooed seductively in his ears.

…and Hachiman's brain turned to mush at the vivid imagery concocted by his perverted brain.

"…um" Once again Hachiman was unable to form a coherent sentence.

/

A/N:

Sorry for the slight delay but it's a big chapter (2600+ words) Also for those who were expecting "Haruno's Bubble Bath" well…that is being re-written currently to be less…'sexy'…so I had to go with this one instead… but don't you guys worry, the next chapter will feature Haruno in a bathtub one way or the other…And if you guys really want then Yukino might show up as well! Like always the choice is yours

Here are the options:

Option one: Haruno's Bubble Bath (Slight delay due to re-write)

Option two: Compromised Positions! (Featuring a hiding Hachiman, a soaking wet Haruno and an angry and annoyed Yukino!) (No delay! I Promise!)

Please, pick one

Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams


	33. Chapter 33 Happy Thoughts

Don't own Oregairu

Chapter 33: Happy Thoughts

"Care to join me Hachiman?" Haruno asked.

Hachiman felt himself panicking, 'Think happy thoughts Hachiman. Happy thoughts. Something good must have happened in your life since you were born. Remember them'

And so Hachiman started remembering, like playing an old movie reel in the white screen of his rotten mind.

...surprisingly there were many memories, some very old and some very new, but they were there, flashing before his eyes...

'No this can't be happening' Hachiman thought with dread, 'My whole life is flashing before my eyes...this means...this..means...I'm about to die'

"Oh Hachiman~" Haruno sang from the bathroom, "The water is so cold~" she informed melodiously, "Let's make it warm~" she replied suggestively.

Hachiman closed his eyes and began reminiscing.

'Think happy thoughts...think about Komachi...about Shizuka ...about Yuigahama...about, about anyone except her'

...and thus began a period of reflections into his past.

A/N

Replaced the filler chapter with this for continuity purposes. Now I can write flashback chapters without worrying.


	34. Chapter 34 Shizuka's Coffee

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 34: Shizuka's Coffee (Flashback)

Hikigaya Hachiman found himself, following one of his club mates, namely Yuigahama Yui, to a roundabout walk around their neighbouring vicinity, after a reliably normal day at high school, fulfilling an unreasonable request, made to them by their irate, underpaid and extremely volatile, homeroom teacher, namely Hiratsuka Shizuka, an evergreen single woman, with a thankless job and a penchant for bullying him, into certain unusual jobs… like for instance, getting a latte from a local barista.

At the end of the day, Hiratsuka Shizuka got her overpriced cappuccino while Hikigaya Hachiman sought comfort in a can of Maxx Coffee and like always, Yuigahama Yui hovered around both of them, participating in a gradually forming awkward moment, full of silence and tranquillity, which was unnecessarily disturbed by an unlikely discovery.

"Um, there is a coffee machine right here sensei, you know" Yui said with a touch of uncertainty in her voice while pointing her small index finger upon a counter in the teacher's faculty room, "So, um, does this not work anymore or something?" she asked while looking at Shizuka.

Shizuka blew over her cup of coffee and took a small sip before replying, "It works just fine" she said with a hint of embarrassment in her voice "…But not everyone in the staff can use that stupid machine properly, okay?" her voice sounded exasperated, "…It's not easy, alright?" Shizuka sounded almost defeated.

Yui nodded her head, "Oh, okay then sensei. It's no big deal!" she exclaimed cheerfully, "I was just being curious, that's all, ha! ha!…" she gave an uneasy chuckle before her voice trailed away while her face turned towards Hachiman for any kind of moral support.

However, Hachiman was not helpful at all and instead he worsened her plight by having a small frown on his face, "Sensei, I think what Yuigahama is trying to ask, is why you sent, both of us to get you, your precious coffee, from that overcrowded café, if you had a fully functioning espresso machine, right here, in this very room" his voice was completely flat and his eyes appeared dead, "…she is just being too…nice..." Hachiman said that last word like it was a curse before he spotted the gradually bubbling rage in Shizuka, which made him gulp in fear and speak in an extremely small voice"…and trying not to anger you like me…" Hachiman eventually turned to Yui and gave her a annoyed look, "My apologies Yuigahama." He said in a pathetic voice, "I thought you were just being nice… while in fact… you were just being sly" Hachiman almost looked impressed with her.

Yui blinked a couple of times before cocking her head to the side in confusion, "I didn't really get what you said, but I think you somehow insulted me" she gave a small pout and puffed her cheeks, "Bad Hikki! Hikki Bad!" Yui said in a cute, baby voice.

Hachiman looked at Yui like she had gravely insulted his pride by her childish sounding words, "Stop talking like that!" he pleaded, "Are you a five year old, or what?" he asked derisively, taking a couple of steps away from her standing figure, while turning his head around to face a smiling Shizuka, sitting lazily on her chair, while enjoying her steaming beverage.

Upon finding his attention on her, Shizuka gave Hachiman a rather bland look, "You want something from me Hikigaya?" she asked while looking at him over her steaming cup of drink, which created a very mystical effect and... spoke of divine retribution.

Hachiman gulped and moved a little closer to Yui for protection, while working under the mistaken assumption that Shizuka would not hurt him when he is standing this close to such a nice girl, "I-I was just curious sensei" Hachiman was proud of this fact that his voice shook only a little, but that was only because of Yui, who was giving him an encouraging smile to continue on his quest to speak his mind, which would undoubtedly lead to his demise. Hachiman was certain of his death when Shizuka gave him the barest glimpse, of her sharp teeth, while licking her luscious lips that had him stammering like an idiot. "Um, um, ah, i-is there a reason, you sent us to that café sensei?" Hachiman asked after passing several hurdles of his failing courage before congratulating himself on this small victory.

However Shizuka was not pleased, "Say Hikigaya, tell me something" She began rather ominously while nursing her drink, running her dainty fingers over the brim of her cup. Her violet gaze dove into his rotten soul and Hachiman found himself almost giving an involuntary flinch under her fierce glare, "Do you have a problem with me?" she asked menacingly before rephrasing her statement and making it far more venomous, "Or did you have a problem since it was me, and not…" her eyes turned a rather darker shade of violet and held an insidious note to them, which was further reinforced by her repetition,"…let say… a certain, kohai of yours, hmm?" Shizuka asked and for a moment, he almost looked confused, which infuriated her even more.

But then a certain nice girl from her class decided to help, clear up his stupid gently tugged on his sleeve, to try and shift his attention back onto her.

Yui's voice sounded soft but she was not exactly whispering to Hachiman, "Hikki, I think sensei is talking about Iroha-chan, you know" she said near his ears which irritated him only a little but Hachiman kept most of his complaints to himself and instead, decided to listen to Yui, in order to get a better understanding of this situation, "There is rumour that Hikki and Iroha-chan are…" Yui trailed off and nervously exchanged a short glance with Shizuka before deciding to repeat her sentence once again for emphasis, "…that Hikki and Iroha-chan are…close" Yui was finally able to complete her sentence and as expected her cheeks had turned a very darker shade of red.

Shizuka decided to have pity on Yui and filled in on the rest of the sordid details, "Like Yuigahama said there is a rumour that you and the student council president of our school, Iroha Isshiki, are involved a romantic relationship" she gently placed her cup of half finished coffee on her work desk before fixing him with her steady, purple gaze, "Is this rumour true, Hikigaya?" Shizuka asked in an extremely cold voice.

Hachiman took notice of this sudden change in atmospheric pressure and his self preservation skills kicked in, "Of course not sensei" Hachiman replied and then to completely exonerate himself of any further allegations, he put forth a simple query, "And since when did sensei start taking rumours so seriously" he asked Shizuka and then, without giving her a chance to reply, he turned to Yui and asked her the same question, with an indescribably painful edge to his voice, "Et tu Yuigahama?" Hachiman questioned with a sudden dramatic flair in his voice.

However Yuigahama only looked confused, "Etu?" she wondered, before blushing furiously, over a similar sounding word, which Ebina had mentioned to her while discussing her certain fujoshi fantasies. "Hentai Hikki! Hikki Hentai!" Yui thundered abruptly and began showering him with a volley a small punches in her embarrassment. Hachiman was actually hurt... in a physical sense.

"Oi!Oi! Cut it out Yuigahama" Hachiman said while shielding himself from her blows, "There is nothing going on between me and Isshiki" he told her but she was not relenting, "Yui…" Hachiman was unable to finish saying her full name since he had tumbled backwards to dodge her punches.

He blocked his face with both his arms but suddenly there were no more punches to defend, which made him grow extremely wary of a deadly sneak attack.

"H-H-Hikki, y-you, said my name…" Yui stammered while blushing uncontrollably.

Hachiman blinked a couple of times, "…Um, I think I did" he replied without realising what he called her previously.

"Okay, I forgive you, Hikki" Yui stated and gave a cheerful smile which was once again full of warmth and kindness but this time around Hachiman had certain misgivings about her overall, niceness and pleasantries, "Come closer Hikki" Yui said again in a welcoming voice but Hachiman kept a safe distance away from her.

"No I'm fine right here" Hachiman said while inching closer to Shizuka and to her credit, his sensei didn't even pay any attention to him. She just picked up her lukewarm cup of coffee from her table and gave a loud and sonorous sip.

However, Yui might have taken offense to his behaviour, since she gave a small pout and began to explain herself without any probable reason, "You don't blame me, do you Hikki?" She asked in a soft and guilty voice, "Those rumours are super creepy, you know" she explained further, "…and then you kinda follow Iroha-chan around a lot and she always rejects your, um…following? Ha!Ha!" Yui gave a nervous and awkward laugh at her inability to come up with a less objectionable word.

Shizuka gave a soft sigh and decided to help Yui by deciding to change the awkward subject and ended up bringing them both back to her original query, "Alright Yuigahama, now you know that those stupid rumours are completely baseless" However she didn't feel exactly guilty by throwing her poor student under the bus, "Are you satisfied now?" Shizuka asked further with a sly smile.

"Eh? Wha…Wha?" Yuigahama stammered, "I…didn't…" She glowered at Shizuka, "But…but…sensei was also…" Yuigahama trailed off after getting a deadly glare from her homeroom teacher

Shizuka gave a loud cough and began anew with only a hint of blush on her cheeks, "Well, like I was saying," she cleared her throat again and spoke to Hachiman in her grown up voice, "Was there any trouble in the café?" she asked simply.

Hachiman shook his head, "Not really but… um, the barrista was kinda trying to flirt with Yuigahama" he replied blandly.

"Eh? No he wasn't" Yuigahama protested, "He was just being nice" she said in a soft voice.

Hachiman scoffed, "Of course he was" he said with sarcasm laced in his voice.

Shizuka felt a little guilty at having one of her students go through this unwelcomed experience, "Sorry about that Yuigahama. Won't make you go with him again" she apologised genuinely while choosing her words carefully, but her rotten student saw through her clever scheme.

"What do you mean 'him' sensei?" Hachiman asked, "It wasn't my fault" he said, getting only a slightly bit annoyed.

As always, Yui decided to cool everything down, "Don't worry Hikki." She pleaded, "Besides you were super cool and extremely nice to me, back there, so it wasn't very bad" Yui said with a bright smile on her face.

Shizuka bristled, "Well I'm not going there again" she declared before her shoulders drooped lower in sadness, "Guess, I will have to make do without hearts in my coffee, now, eh?" she asked miserably to no one in particular.

Hachiman raised an eyebrow in interest, "Hearts in coffee?" he asked in confusion.

Shizuka sighed in contentment, "Yeah, you know, those hearts they draw on coffee with milk…and stuff" she said in an uncertain voice, "I think they call it latté art"

Hachiman shook his head in disbelief, "All this for a stupid heart…" he grumbled, mostly to himself before turning around to look at the espresso machine, studying its make and model, "…you can easily do that by using this machine over here" he said while moving closer to the machine, "…are you sure this is fully functional sensei?" he asked, while placing his hands on the machine.

"Of course I am!" Shizuka exclaimed.

Hachiman nodded, "Okay then" he mused inaudibly and within a moment both Yui and Shizuka found him, transporting himself into a small pocket universe, where there was only him, an espresso machine and all the necessary ingredients required to brew an excellent batch of cappuccino.

He was extremely patient, sinking the milk underneath the coffee for a strong foundation, then lowering the pitcher, coaxing the foam for his future creation, forming a small expanding, white dot, lightening the volume, then finally dragging diametrically and drawing a divot on top to have… a lovely heart.

"Wow!" Yui exclaimed loudly

"Whoa!" Shizuka exclaimed loudly too.

However, Hachiman gave only a small smile, "Behold! Loner skill #87: Latté Hikki!" he proclaimed dramatically and then, he rested his pair of rotten dead fish eyes, on the two occupants of this room and as expected he found Shizuka, with a cup of coffee in her hand and Yui, without a cup of coffee in her hand.

Hence, it was simply logical.

"Um, Yuigahama, do you want this coffee?" Hachiman asked uncertainly.

Yui gave Hachiman her brightest smile, "Really Hikki! You mean it!" Her voice was steadily growing louder, "Of course I want it!" She replied excitedly and almost snatched the coffee from his hand and Hachiman was lucky enough find his arm still attached to his body.

Yui took a small sip, "Waaah! This tastes super good~" She said in a wistful voice.

And with that Shizuka watched both her students leave... while she morbidly sipped her bitter cup of stale coffee

"And that's why I hate nice girls" Shizuka grumbled before throwing her cup away.

/

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to 'thatguywhowrote', who always helps me fix all the grammatical errors and spelling mistakes in this story. You are awesome!

Now this was a fluffy, big chapter (2300+ words) What do you guys think?

And here are the options for the next chapter:

Option one: Yukino's habit

Option two: Yui's habit

Please, pick one.

Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams


	35. Chapter 35 Yukino's Habit

Don't own Oregairu

Chapter 35: Yukino's habit (Flashback)

It was never my intention to observe my service club president, with anything close to interest, but when I found myself leafing through a rather dull volume of a recently published new light novel, I found my rotten dead fish eyes slowly drifting towards the only other occupant of the service club, who was none other than the Ice Queen herself, namely Yukinoshita Yukino.

She was currently busy making tea and paying almost no attention to me, which was probably for the best, otherwise she would have already turned around, glared at me and then called me a creep. This was her habit.

Whenever she felt my eyes on her, even if it is by mistake or just an innocent, casual glance, she would stop whatever she is currently doing and call me names. Last time she called me 'Hiki-gawking-kun' and all I did was avert my eyes and return to reading my book.

But today it felt different. She should have felt me staring at her by now but she was not doing anything about it. That was even more scary. And Yuigahama was still not present for some reason which made it seem even more ominous. Was she planning to kill me by poisoning my tea? I had to know.

"Say Yukinoshita" I begin timidly, "What are you doing?"

Yukinoshita turned around and looked at me with a small smile, "Why Hikigaya-kun, can't you see?" She asked rhetorically, "I'm making tea" she said simply.

I nod my head, "I can see that" and then out of sheer stupidity, I say, "Not like I was staring or anything." God! I sound like such a tsundere right now!

"It's okay" Yukinoshita says abruptly, "I don't mind"

I feel puzzled, "You don't mind me staring?" I ask uncertainly.

"Were you staring, Hikigaya-kun?" Yukinoshita asks playfully.

"N-no" I lie.

"Alright then" Yukinoshita says, "But just to let you know I don't mind you staring" she repeats, "And if I were honest, I would say, that I in fact, admire the attention" she replies simply.

I grow slightly uncomfortable, "You do?" I ask hesitantly.

Yukinoshita nods, "I actually find it rather pleasant" she says, "In fact it was about time you showed an interest"

I blink, "Um, what do you mean?" I ask, feeling extremely anxious

Yukinoshita sighs, "You don't have to play dumb Hikigaya-kun although I doubt whether that can be humanly feasible even for a rotten individual like you" as expected, she insults me out of habit, with a small smile on her face, "But like I was saying, it was about time you showed an interest or paid attention to me"

I find myself still clueless and hence I ask, "But why?"

Yukinoshita gives me a triumphant smile, "Because you could learn a few more things about me" she says proudly

"Like what?" I ask stupidly.

"Like how I make the most splendid cup of tea in the world" Yukinoshita announces, "You should act more grateful, Hikigaya-kun" she says while folding her arms over her modest breasts.

"Alright" I mumble weakly, "But you know what, I don't have to be grateful"

Yukinoshita looks perturbed, "Why not?" She asks

I give a small sigh, "Because you forgot to add any sugar in this tea" I say with a small smirk on my lips, "Like yesterday and the day before that"

Yukinoshita blushes, "It's not my fault" she says with a small pout, "It's all beacuse of your creepy staring, Hikigaya-kun"

She takes away my cup and I hide my smile in the pages of this dull light novel. Yukinoshita mumbles something about, 'stupid nee-san', 'dumb brute' and 'failed plan' but I pay no attention to her anymore.

After all, Yukinoshita Yukino has many unusual habits doesn't she. Making a great cup of tea is one of them and talking to herself while she thinks I'm not listening is another.

Lately, she has been talking to herself a lot...about me.

...I feel a sense of dread.

Does she...?

/

A/N: Okay, I know this was disappointing but I had to write something. I haven't written anything for 20 days! Okay, good news my exam will be over on 20th so I will write big chapters then. Also I think, I'm done with flashbacks and now I want to return to the present. But as always the choice is yours.

Here are the options:

Option One: Haruno's bubbly temptation(Present)

Option two: Orimoto's naughty, sexy shower (Elsewhere)

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams


	36. Chapter 36: Orimoto's Friend

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 36: Orimoto's Coffee

"Orimoto-chan over here"

"Ah Hayama chan thank you! I almost didn't see you back there"

Orimoto was surprised to get a call from Hayama but she had nothing else to do after school was over so she came to the coffee shop where they decided to meet up beforehand and have a friendly little chat. They had talked recently at Sobu High while Orimoto was carrying out some Student council business on behalf of Tamanawa and they had exchanged contact details but she never expected him to invite her for coffee

"How are you doing Orimoto-chan?" Hayama asked

"I'm doing fine. How about you?" Orimoto replied.

"I'm doing great as well" Hayama replied, "Would you like to order something. It's on me"

Orimoto gave him a coy look which was utterly fake, "My, my Hayama-chan, did you call me out here on a date?"

Hayama smiled, "Of course not Orimoto-san. I remember you telling me how I'm not exactly your type. However you did say that you won't mind having coffee with me as a friend. That's all this is."

Orimoto nodded her head, "I guess, I can do that but something tells me this isn't actually what you have in mind"

Hayama leaned forward, "You are right Orimoto chan. I called you out here to ask you a small favour"

Orimoto smiled, "Oh is that it! Well you don't have to worry Hayama. Your secret is safe with me. I won't tell anyone in your school about how you embarrassed me and my friend Chika, in that double date."

Hayama looked taken aback, "How did you know?"

Orimoto got up from her seat, "It was very easy. You are afraid I would spread a rumour and ruin your reputation"

Hayama furrowed his brows, "You have to say that I am right in being careful. You did the same thing to Hikigaya, am I right?"

Orimoto flinched, "Yeah I did"

Hayama got up as well, "Are you sure I can't interest you in a cup of coffee"

"No thank you" Orimoto replied, "But there is one thing you can do for me."

Hayama quirked an eyebrow, "And what might that be?"

Orimoto leaned forward "You wouldn't happen to have Hikigaya's number by any chance do you?" she asked simply.

/

A/N: Deleted the lemon. If you want to read it let me know.


	37. Chapter 37 Orimoto's Mistake

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 37: Orimoto's Mistake

One of his long fingers gently tucked a single strand of her wet brown hair behind her left earlobe and she found herself silently thanking him for giving her a better view of his striking features, which were now no longer limited to just an unexplainable look in his once rotten, dead fish eyes and an equally, almost absentee smile lurking behind his thin, chapped lips.

"We have changed so much, haven't we, Hikigaya?" She found herself asking, more to herself than anyone in particular, while her fingers found a hidden courage to gently dab against his damp lips.

"Yes we have, Orimoto" He replied against her fingers and she felt his warm, comforting breath leave his mouth, trickle over her fingertips and run across her open palm like many a droplets that have been falling over both of them from this gushing shower, that hung above their heads like a proverbial sword urging her to make peace with their past and take a leap of faith into his imaginary, outstretched arms.

"I hate change, you know" Orimoto found herself replying suddenly after succumbing to a moment of weakness which resulted in her slowly moving away from him in a manner more akin to self mutilation than simply putting a small distance between them in a futile gesture to give herself more space in an already small bathroom.

"I never knew" Orimoto heard Hikigaya's voice but she choose to ignore it in favour of listening to those merciless droplets of shower which were threatening to make her experience a severe pain much more similar to getting abandoned, all by her lonesome during a raging hailstorm without any hope of getting rescued or finding any kind of shelter except for giving in to hopelessness and taking another step back and falling into an endless chasm of her own deserting emotions.

"You weren't supposed to…" Orimoto replied and she took a step back and waited to drown herself in her own misery without giving a person like him a chance to help her overcome her social anxieties,"…no one was" and even this time around she was a coward, afraid of getting hurt by others and hence she sought an easy way out by showing him her inherent fears through physical motions like dropping her hands to her side and hanging her head in shame and then she almost gave up and leaned backwards to support herself on these surrounding wet, slippery walls of her bathroom which proved to be a fitting metaphor for her own self erected, mental barriers and social boundaries, where a person like him would never be accepted, let alone be considered as anything more than an unwanted friend.

"I hate change too, you know" Orimoto heard his voice, remark in a casual manner and once again, even after such a long time, she found herself forcing him to take a dangerous first step towards her cowering form and mitigating her to trust his judgement.

As expected, nothing had changed and like before, Hikigaya moved closer to her and encroached upon her social boundaries and skipped over her mental barriers. Everything was a melting and dripping replica taken exactly from a painful memory of her past but instead of an empty classroom, overlooked by a romantic sunset, they found themselves standing in a cramped bathroom, underneath a heavy and unrelenting shower, where she finally felt her eyelids grow heavy from many an unshed tears which she had been holding back ever since that horribly, awful day.

"I'm so sorry Hikigaya" Orimoto finally managed to mumble but she could not look at him and instead kept her eyes shut to stop herself for shedding anymore tears. A violent sob racked through her body and she trembled from a sudden chill that had settled over her skin. "I'm so very sorry" she repeated again yet she would not lift her head and stare at him when she was apologizing for one of her gravest mistakes that she had ever committed throughout her entire teenage years.

After a few minutes which felt more like a few hours to her, Orimoto heard him give a dry chuckle before he gently hooked his fingers underneath her delicate chin and kindly prompted her to lift her head and face him like that girl she once was, like that girl she wanted to be, like that girl she knew he had crushed on back in middle school but unfortunately for him she had never been that girl and her whole life had been a huge game of playing pretend just to please her fellow classmates and peers.

"I forgive you, Orimoto" She heard his reply but she could not find it in herself to believe him entirely. However her knowledge of him was horribly outdated. It was from back then, from their horribly shared past experiences, but right now at this moment, she found those same eyes taking in her each and every movement while she bathed in his overflowing affection and she found no fault in willingly surrendering herself to this newly discovered epiphany between two lost souls.

"Are you sure?" Orimoto mumbled

"I am" Hikigaya replied.

Earlier she was uncertain and bashful enough to ignore those messy clumps of her short hair which had, conveniently been splayed across her wet forehead and had stooped low enough to fall over one of her honey brown eyes, but now her vision was cleared and hence she found herself giving her shower companion a long, lingering, once over before finally noticing a small piece of clothing, pooled around his ankles, soaking wet, from absorbing this heavy amount of water on her bathroom floor, after getting dispersed from a gleefully bursting showerhead, which had been continuously encouraging both of them to pour their hearts out in this much earned, moment of dripping privacy.

"You dropped your towel, Hikigaya" Orimoto mumbled abruptly while keeping her eyes on his face.

"So did you, Orimoto" Hikigaya replied without making any attempts to secure his modesty from getting further exposed.

Orimoto was already left speechless by having him, standing before her, almost caged in by his sinew shoulders and hence she could only manage to mumble a small sentence in an equally coy voice, which sounded almost unlike anything she had said to anyone before.

"Eeep!" Orimoto squealed loudly, covering her breasts with both her hands, "How did that happen?" she asked in near panic, trying in vain to pick up her towel and drape it over her body but her attempt was completely futile. He had already seen her and likewise she had already seen him. As expected, two teenagers, sharing a shower could never be expected to behave like a nun or a priest.

"A couple of minutes ago" Hikigaya was being unnaturally calm over this whole proceeding and to her it almost seemed like he was finding this situation extremely hilarious. Orimoto did not have a single clue over what to expect next but then again, she had never been bold enough to invite another person to share a shower with her, during her entire teenage years, but as expected of her, he would always prove to be an exception to everything concerning her. If this happened to anyone other than herself she would have burst out in laughter at their comedic predicament.

"What do we do now?" Orimoto asked after wrapping her towel firmly across her body, but not before stealing a small peek at him, making a grab at his own towel and securing it around his own waist. Hikigaya studied her expression for a few moments but said nothing and instead of staying quiet like him, Orimoto decided to open her big mouth and spill one of her biggest secrets.

"…I would have said yes" Orimoto told him in a soft voice and once again she was finding it difficult to hold back her tears. She made a poor attempt to wipe them away with her palms but it was proving to be extremely difficult while having a shower running over her entire face in a manner similar to a torrential rain.

"…I don't follow" Hikigaya sounded confused but nonetheless he reached forward and carefully wiped away her tears. Afterwards, he used both his palms to cradle her face and she made every effort to stare directly into his eyes when she would finally tell him her version of their truth.

"I would have accepted your confession, Hikigaya!" Orimoto croaked out but then she lost her courage and decided to lunge forward and bury herself into his chest. She waited for him to push her away but instead she found him wrapping his arms around her body and simply allowing her to press herself further into his own body. Afterwards, she felt his chin rest on top of her head and felt his fingers gently run through her short wet hair in a lethargic manner which made her breathing grow weary and helped her steady her heart rate.

"You don't owe me any explanation, Orimoto" Hikigaya said in a soft voice and any other day Orimoto would have listened to him and agreed. She had already apologized to him and he had forgiven her and like he said she did not owe him an explanation but today she decided to be brave and although she held onto him for support, there was only so many times she could have him to herself and that to in a private setting which was her own bathroom.

Both of them continued to stand underneath an unwanted shower, holding each other for dear life and after taking a deep breath through her mouth, Orimoto began her sad tale:

"That day in the classroom…" Orimoto trembled at remembering this horrible memory and she was starting to stutter but Hikigaya assured her through a small glaze of nimble fingers down her back in a relaxing gesture, which urged her to continue and not let her down today. She started again "…that day in the classroom, we were not alone. When you were about to ask me out, I saw someone lurking in the corridors. Your back was turned and you were facing me, so you didn't see her but I saw her clearly over your shoulders. She was trying to be subtle and was only peeking through the side of the door but there was no doubt in my mind that it was none other than Chika Nakamachi and she was actually trying to spy on us! Chika Nakamachi!" Orimoto spat her name like an abusive curse, "You might not remember her Hikigaya, but she was also with us in our class back in middle school and she also tagged along with us in that stupid double date with Hayama Hayato! She hasn't changed at all, I tell you! She is still that same girl, you know, spreading false rumours, making stuff up and telling nonsensical lies. She used to pick on you and bother you all the time back in middle school but during that double date she goaded me to make fun of you as well so she could score brownie points with Hayama! What a pathetic loser!" Orimoto groused in self loathing, "But I am still friends with her anyway because I am just afraid of making her angry and that same fear made me reject you on that fateful day! I saw Chika and I panicked. I was thinking more about the rumours that she would spread if I said 'yes' to your confession and I knew that she had the power to ruin my reputation…and…and…and…that's why I rejected you in such a brutal way!" Orimoto was sobbing again and this time around she let her tears flow down her face with unbridled sadness and agony. She was ashamed of herself! Absolutely ashamed! "And then the very next day, as expected, she spread all those terrible rumours about your rejection and turned you into a laughing stock for the whole school! Everyone made fun of you and I hated them so very much but I just stood back and did nothing because I was afraid and I thought it was probably for the best because… I thought…I thought… a girl like me would never be happy with a guy like you" Orimoto finally relinquished her hold of him and pulled away just enough to stare into his eyes, "But later on I realised it was the other way around." Orimoto stood her ground and looked him right in the eye, "A guy like you would never be happy with a girl like me" Her voice broke and she would have sunk down to her knees had Hikigaya not been holding her upright at this very vulnerable moment.

"Everything's going to be alright Orimoto" Hikigaya reassured her.

Orimoto leaned into him once again and tried to give a small chuckle at her sad state of affairs but her voice sounded more like a rough cough.

"I'm really pathetic, you know" Orimoto said to him, still keeping her face buried into his chest "I have the guy I like in the shower and instead of making out and having shower sex with him, I spend my entire time crying into his chest like a little girl while telling him my sorry little sob story!" She gave another humourless laugh, "If that didn't kill the mood I don't know what will"

Orimoto felt a silent laugh rumble through his chest and he leaned his face closer, and chose to speak in a voice which was barely above a whisper "Maybe you are just waiting to invite me to your bed" she heard Hikigaya reply and felt his lips brush against her right ear lobe.

Orimoto blushed upon hearing his allegation but she would be lying to herself if she thought this was anything except a great idea. "You got that right!" She declared, nuzzling into his shoulder, "Enough with the shower! Let's just get out of here!" She was already a couple of steps away from his side when he heard him giving her a small warning.

"Careful, you might slip on that bar of soap" Hikigaya's voice sounded faint

"Bar of whhaaa!" And as expected Orimoto Kaori slipped on said bar of soap and landed on her butt.

When she finally got back on her feet she found out that she had actually imagined this entire conversation after she had fainted from taking a long, hot bath.

"It wasn't even a shower!" Orimoto screamed in frustration.

But she would get mad at herself later because right now she had to talk to that very same person about whom she had been hallucinating this entire time. There was no need to delay their talk any further.

Orimoto grabbed her phone, dialled his number and impatiently waited for him to pick up on the other side. Within a few seconds she heard his voice although it sounded rather panicky for some reason and she was having difficulty just talking to him.

"Hello Hikigaya, it's me Kaori. Orimoto Kaori! You remember me right? What? Slow down, what are you saying? I can't understand! Save you? Kidnapped? Onee-san? Yuki-what? Haru-who? What about bubbles? Hello! Hello! Hello!"

But there was no answer and her call was disconnected. Orimoto bit her lips.

"Maybe I should call back later" Orimoto thought.

/

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to 502nickster for advising me to focus more on character and plot development than lemons! Thank you so much!

Okay, now this is a big chapter (2700+ words) and you have to agree this is far better than any lemons. But for those of you who disagree and prefer things to get a little hot and heavy are in for a great time ahead. But as always the choice is yours:

Here are the options for the next chapter:

Option one: Haruno's temptation

Option two: Isshiki's Shower (NOT A DREAM!)

Please, pick one

Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams

/

P.S - Chapter 36 is replaced. Please check it out.


	38. Chapter 38 Isshiki's Senpai

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 38: Isshiki's Senpai

Knowing he was about to undress and take a shower, Isshiki stealthily approached him from behind and took her chance. Thankfully, he was fully clothed, otherwise she would have been utterly out of her depths and completely embarrassed.

He turned around, facing her, a small smile was on his face and she stole his smile away with a kiss.

A long, prolonged, lingering meeting of lips, where she found herself closing her eyes and surrendering to this moment of abrupt intimacy, which Isshiki was certain would end any moment now, from him pushing her away, then apologizing and inadvertently breaking her heart into tiny, tiny pieces.

…but then he kissed her back.

Almost instantly her eyes sprang open and Isshiki found herself looking at her senpai, studying his features and trying to wake up from this dream.

But she was certain this could never be a dream. This was not a dream, not a fantasy anymore. She was kissing her senpai and he was kissing her back. This was real. So very real!

Isshiki wanted to talk to him, tell him how she felt, how she always felt. But her mouth was rather occupied by his and her foxy brain was left befuddled.

Unable to form any kind of coherent sentences or sly remarks, she instead gave a loud, breathy moan against his mouth which must have had an adverse effect on him because he suddenly grew completely rigid before her petite presence and stopped kissing her altogether.

"Senpai, did I do something wrong?" Isshiki Iroha found herself asking.

However Isshiki's senpai did not say anything. He just shook his head. Isshiki felt a bit of relief but after a moment she grew a little tensed. Her senpai reached forward, his large hands turned a knob and suddenly both of them found themselves standing underneath a running shower.

"Senpai, what the heck are you doing?" Isshiki asked loudly

"…Making you wet, Iroha" Isshiki's senpai replied rather seductively.

Isshiki blushed and averted her eyes from him.

She was very much aware of what he might mean when he made such a remark. But on a personal level, just to appease her worries, she really wanted to believe that her senpai did not mean anything…especially that sort of stuff.

But Isshiki could hardly blame him now. She had walked in on him, moments before he was about to take a shower and she had kissed him, while fully knowing that her senpai was bound to make a move, which could have gone either way, depending on his current mood or her ability to persuade him through a kiss and although she was counting on him to react, there was always a big risk of everything spinning out of her control which would then reduce her to a state of tears at his cruel rejection.

But Isshiki's senpai only smiled, a rather charismatic smile of his, but this time around there was an undercurrent of desire… of hunger… of lust.

He was showing her a side of him which was never meant to appear in a public domain. But then again, they were in private. Only two of them, a kohai and a senpai, under a small shower, cramped for room and space, getting completely soaked and drenched.

"So very bold, Iroha" Isshiki's senpai said in a husky voice and she felt his lips brushing against her chin, dripping with fresh water, moving on to capture her newly wet lips and before she could respond to his kiss, she found one of his large palms, easily taking a hold of both her small hands and placing them firmly in his strong grasp.

She was succumbing to him, finding herself surrendering to many of his passionate kisses.

Isshiki's senpai was bold and experienced, and sadly, Isshiki realised that unlike her, this might not have been his first kiss. He must have kissed many girls, many women, before her. After all, he must have since he was always surrounded by many beautiful girls like Miura-senpai, Yuigahama-senpai, even Ebina-senpai. Compared to him, she was rather naïve and innocent. Never having even kissed a boy before in her life, Isshiki was now experiencing many doubts and uncertainties which she had been successful in keeping away from her mind. But now she really wanted to know. A little bit of truth would never be able to hurt her.

"Senpai, am I a good kisser?" Isshiki asked tentatively when her senpai had removed his mouth from her's to give her another chance to swallow a mouthful of air. He must have heard her query but he made no response to indicate an answer and instead of replying to her question he kept looking at her petite body with a rather heated gaze which made her extremely curious.

"What are you looking at senpai?" Isshiki asked while she was brushing away a few stray strands of her wet hair from covering her eyes and forehead. She never saw her senpai look at anyone like this and it was very new and…unnerving.

"Orange looks good on you, Iroha" Isshiki's senpai replied in a rather cryptic manner.

Isshiki was now more confused, "…Orange?" she thought aloud for a moment but then she lowered her eyes and gave a loud squeal of embarrassment. "Eeep! Senpai don't look!" Isshiki had been standing under this gushing stream of water for a while now and as expected she was completely drenched but her current cause of embarrassment was rather obvious.

While she was getting wet, as per her senpai's wishes, her clothes, which mainly consisted of her school uniform was getting completely soaked and as a result it was clinging uncomfortably close to every part of her female body.

Her dress shirt was sticking to her breasts and was gradually beginning to become rather transparent by every passing moment and every falling drop.

This shirt, like every other school shirt worn by students of her school was white in colour and as a result it was making everything clearly visible. She was wearing an orange bra underneath and it was clearly showing… and her senpai must have noticed this quite a while ago.

Isshiki now wondered whether this was his sole reason to turn on the shower when he started taking more than a ravenous interest in kissing her senseless

"Wonder whether they match?" Isshiki's senpai asked and now his gaze lowered. His eyes were taking in those rivulets of water glistening on their way down from her dripping legs after escaping the fabric of her short skirt which was plastered entirely over her soaking thighs.

Before Isshiki could mumble an embarrassing reply, her lips were seized by his and she felt her petite body getting roughly shoved against this bathroom walls and before she could protest in a physical sense both her wrists found themselves clasped firmly in his formidable hold and firmly pushed upwards above her head.

He was using only one of his hands to keep her in place and stopping her from any inexperienced interference while his other hand he was beginning to enjoy a dangerous descend downwards, over her skirt and between her thighs.

"No matter, I will find it out for myself, won't I Iroha?" Isshiki's senpai said in an almost inaudible whisper and Isshiki found herself shivering from this unwanted touch. She had only wanted a small reaction from him when she had kissed her but this was all going out of her hand. She did not want this! She did not want this at all!

"Senpai~" Isshiki moaned in pleasure at this foreign touch. They really needed to stop, she really needed him to stop taking this any further than it already had but she was scared. She thought she liked him, she thought she wanted him…but not like this. Not here, in a shower, in their school.

"Senpai please~" Isshiki half moaned, half pleaded again in a hoarse voice but she was liking his skilled touch, his experienced lips and she had only half a heart to stop this from progressing any further.

One of his hands traversed inside her open shirt collar and began to trace her bare collar bone… and then he began to slip the strap of her bra from her shoulder. So many things were happening, he had entwined both their legs and had enough strength to lift her body from touching solid ground of the shower floor…and he was doing all this while continuing to kiss her until she was left breathless and gasping for more amounts of fresh air.

"Senpai~" Isshiki moaned again while her mouth was being plundered over and over again by her handsome senpai.

"Say my name, Iroha" He ordered in between fervent kisses while he was busy unbuttoning her shirt.

He never stopped exploring her, her mouth, her body, her essence, her everything, would soon belong to him and she was ready, ready with an answer. Her mind was steadily growing foggy from these strange feelings and there was only one name on her lips.

"Ha-Hachiman" Isshiki croaked against his lips.

…and then everything came to a violent halt.

Isshiki would always remember that look of disgust on his face, her senpai, Hayama Hayato's face... and she would always feel the pain she felt when he threw her out of the shower in such a forceful manner.

Isshiki could not say anything to Hayama. In her mind, this was her fault. In a moment of passion, she had said the wrong name. Hayama must have been rather disturbed over her mistake otherwise he would not have thrown her out in such a disgraceful manner which actually managed to hurt her in a more physical sense.

Walking away from this place Isshiki found herself favouring her right leg more. She was definitely wobbly on her feet and she was constantly rubbing her left elbow, nursing an oncoming pain, from falling down in such an awkward angle. Moreover she was completely wet but thankfully school was over and no one would be there to see her in this state.

"Iroha-chan, what happened?"

Isshiki turned around at recognising a familiar voice. Tobe took a few steps forward to get a better look at her state of duress.

"Have you been crying?" Tobe asked again

Isshiki could not control her emotions anymore. She tumbled forward and collapsed in his arms and she was thankful that he caught her before she fell, face first on the dirt. Tears were beginning to leak from her eyes and many a violent sobs racked her petite body.

"What happened Iroha-chan?" Tobe asked in a soothing voice, stroking her wet hair in a soothing manner, trying to calm her down.

"I want senpai" Iroha croaked in between her tears.

Tobe looked puzzled, "You mean Hayama? I think he's in the soccer club locker room, taking a shower. Do you want him?" he asked

Isshiki shook her head "No, I don't want him" she said in a small voice. "I want my senpai!" she declared in a much louder voice and this time around Tobe understood.

"Dammit Hikitani bro! Where the hell are you?" Tobe cursed while he tried his level best to provide comfort to her kohai.

/

A/N:

Told you this was real. Did I fool anyone into thinking it wasn't Hayama? I don't thinks so. Also if you think this chapter was bad in comparison to Miura's or Orimoto's well that's because those are fantasies and this is real. Fantasies are supposed to be better.

Hopefully the next five chapters will have Haruno but as always the choice is yours.

Here are the options for the next chapter:

Option one: Haruno succeeds to seduce Hachiman (Will lead to bubble bath)

Option two: Haruno fails to seduce Hachiman (Will lead to confrontation with Hayama)

Please, pick one

Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams


	39. Chapter 39 Haruno's Artificiality

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 39 Haruno's Artificiality

Haruno's unbuttoned blouse draws my attention. Top two buttons have come undone on a previous occasion and now she is playfully fiddling with another button; a third button. After a small precise movement from her fingers, her blouse loosens further. Top three buttons undone now.

Thankfully, her blouse has six buttons. Counted them on a previous occasion; she did not mind. Rather, she looked very much pleased with herself. Gave up trying to figure her out many months ago; it was useless and completely futile. Yukinoshita Haruno is an enigma. It's about time I realised this and stop pretending otherwise.

"Enjoying the view, Hachiman~" She coos in a pleasant voice.

"…Don't know what you're saying Haruno-san"

Caught again, Hachiman

She enjoys this, very, very much. Catching me in the act; maybe this fuels her vanity. I don't think so. Haruno never seemed like a woman who cares about anyone else other then herself. Did she really find it somewhat amusing at watching a guy like me squirm after getting caught looking.

Maybe she did, maybe she didn't; I am beyond caring.

Like I said before, I stopped trying to figure her out months ago. In hindsight that was a mistake. Never should have stopped thinking about her; about her schemes, about her endgame.

At least then I might have some idea about what she wants with me in her apartment right now. I don't really believe the bubble bath story. It's too good to be true.

"What are you thinking about, Hachiman?" Haruno asks.

She has a smile on her face; a smile I know and recognize anywhere. This is a smile which spells doom for its receiver and currently that person is me. Well done, Hachiman.

"I'm thinking that it was a mistake to stop thinking about you, Haruno-san" She could easily figure out my lies. Hence, a truthful approach was best, although occasionally, a truth can be a lie told a little differently. Now that's just plain confusing. My rotten brain is not functioning properly. Maybe a sight of her blouse is a health hazard for guys like me. Pitiful, I know.

"Flattery might get you somewhere Hachiman" Haruno drawls with a bored expression and then casually looks at the direction of her bathroom, "But I doubt you would like where it might lead."

"I wasn't flattering you" My voice is calm, at least as calm as it can be with her close by. "I was just telling the truth. I shouldn't have stopped thinking about you. It was a mistake."

Haruno looks at me with clear disbelief in her eyes. "You are lying, Hachiman"

"No I'm not. Not about this" There are many occasions when I lie. I admit, I'm a liar; a very big liar. But when I'm caught I own up to it. However, when I'm not lying but someone still accuses me of lying, then it irks me; this is irksome.

"You really want me to believe that, Hachiman?" There is an undercurrent of emotion in her voice which I am incapable of understanding. Yukinoshita Haruno is an enigma but her emotions are a complete mystery. Those eyes trying their best and succeeding perfectly to hide any kind of misleading emotion are incredibly dangerous. But mine are different. They might not be pretty, ugly even; rotten dead fish eyes as everyone calls them, but they can see through everything and this thing I am seeing in Yukinoshita Haruno is incredibly misleading. Once again, I blame my rotten brain… and her unbuttoned blouse… for my current misgivings about this situation.

"What can I do to make you believe me, Haruno-san?" My voice is completely sincere. There is a misunderstanding brewing and throughout my entire youthful life only one thing has been made painfully certain to me:

'Nothing is more dangerous than a misunderstanding.'

Right now a bubble bath seems promising then wherever this current conversation was headed. At least I could try drowning myself in the bath water instead of getting killed by the hands of Yukinoshita Haruno. It would be a great way to die, everything considered.

"Then complete your thought, Hachiman. Leave nothing unsaid." Haruno's voice was lower, lower than I preferred. This voice seemed private and personal, not meant for another person, not meant for another man; especially not meant for a guy like me, "Tell me everything." Her voice was…different, "Why shouldn't you stop thinking about me?" Never before had I heard her like this, a voice, a soft voice… a weak voice. Yukinoshita Haruno was many things but she was never weak. Not the Yukinoshita Haruno I knew, at least. This version was new, and scarier; I did not like this side of Haruno.

However, obliging her every demand was in my best interest. After all she was asking a small thing. Just the whole truth; wasn't that such an easy thing. Maybe sarcasm isn't my forte. Now that is a lie.

"Like I was saying" Voice normal. Keep my voice absolutely normal, "Like I was saying. I shouldn't have stopped thinking about you Haruno-san" Could stop here, right about here and there would be no more problems. I know the next words will spell disaster for me and yet I continue. Why? Because I'm a sucker for punishment; because I'm Hikigaya Hachiman, "I shouldn't have stopped thinking about you Haruno-san…because if I thought about you…then…I would have known about everything; your schemes, your motives; almost anything which might concern me… and your sister."

Everything about me is about her sister, Yukinoshita Yukino. I'm just caught in the crossfire; a stupid guy, unlucky enough to have ever crossed her path and somehow managed to garner her attention.

Haruno chuckles, "You don't realise how you do it, do you?" Her voice is playful and cynical. An odd combination but it suits her, "You delude girls, mislead them without even knowing. Like Yukino-chan, like Gahama-chan…perhaps many more" Her eyes trace my face, maybe looking for something that isn't there. Maybe something that never was there, "You have no idea how much your words mean to some people… some girls…" There is a halt, a haunting halt. My skin coils in fear. I don't like this. I feel guilty without even knowing my crime. This seems wrong, but I don't know how, I don't know why. "You have an unusual way with words, Hachiman" Haruno comes closer…and then she moves away. She turns her back to me, I can't see her face.

But her words are clear. An absolute command:

"You should be careful, Hachiman"

/

A/N: This was a scrapped/deleted chapter of 'Artificially Sound'. I made a few changes and tried to turn it into a chapter for this story, but the 'feel' is there, isn't it? I'm busy writing a chapter named "Game's Afoot" and until it's completed all chapters in this story will feature (Haruno x Hikigaya)

Here are the options for the next chapter:

Option one: Hikigaya's play (Stalling attempt)

Option two: Haruno's muse (Setting the mood)

Till then hope you enjoyed reading this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams


	40. Chapter 40 Haruno's Muse

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 40: Haruno's Muse

Yukinoshita Haruno found manipulation entirely easy.

From a young age, she had convinced her younger sister, Yukinoshita Yukino into undertaking many actions, which were a construct of her own mind but afterwards, Haruno had led Yukino into believing that they were entirely her plans and hence, Yukino should be blamed by her parents for her mistakes, which brought shame to her entire family.

But back then, everything was fun and games; just fun and games.

Nowadays everything was different and although Haruno got incredibly better in manipulating others, there were three people that always managed to escape her grasp and refused to be ensnared by her mind. Obviously enough, one of them was her mother and naturally enough, another was her sensei. But there existed an anomaly, a third person.

…And simply enough, he was Hikigaya Hachiman.

However, she had faith in her abilities and hence tried a different approach; a less subtle approach. After all, Hikigaya Hachiman was a man and Yukinoshita Haruno was a beautiful woman.

Manipulation gave way to seduction.

…And then a warning.

"You should be careful, Hachiman"

Haruno allowed only a tinge of steel to settle on her velvety voice. Honestly, Hikigaya Hachiman could be extremely dense when he wanted to be and on occasions this made her rather infuriated with his overall temperament.

She was led into believing that her actions were having an effect on him.

He had just said that he should have never stopped thinking about her; that it was a mistake to stop thinking about her.

But like always, it was not what he said that was important but rather what he left unsaid.

'Typical Hachiman' Haruno thought in amusement.

He could break her heart, she imagined.

Even the thought brought a smile to her face.

But then she remembered her dear sister, her dear Yukino-chan. Once upon a time, she had said a few words to her, made an accusation against her. Back then, Haruno thought, her sister was wrong. But now she realised, her sister was right all along.

'You don't have a heart, nee-san' Haruno remembered her exact words.

But nowadays there was no pain following this distant memory. There was only an acknowledgement. It was better this way.

Better to be heartless

A small shiver ran through her body and much to her chagrin, a pair of dead fish eyes noticed.

"Are you feeling cold, Haruno-san?" Hachiman asked. A hint of concern was found in his words. But like always Haruno only heard them. She refused to feel his words, refused to have his concern provide her comfort. Feelings are artificial; gracefully manipulative, effortlessly seduced and always capable of being used against themselves.

Keeping her eyes downcast, Haruno affected a coy look.

"Are you offering to keep me warm, Hachiman?" Haruno asked in a low voice, a voice she knew most men found enchanting, found enticing. She had been speaking to him in this fashion for a while now but there was never a perceptible reaction visible on his blank visage whenever he chose a curt response to end their tedious conversations.

"…a blanket would be far better, Haruno-san" Hachiman replied evasively. She felt his eyes linger on her body, once again taking note of her unbuttoned shirt, probably sneaking another peak at her breasts like any man and like before, she met his eye…and winked.

"Caught again, Hachiman" Haruno kept her tone playful, "Try better next time" Much to her annoyance, her voice sounded encouraging but then again maybe her mind was taking certain subconscious decisions on her behalf.

She had never taken such a risqué approach before, never made her available at such a secluded setting; never invited a man into her private sanctuary.

Haruno liked to believe she had standards. But she knew better. Everything was fair when it came to her family. Others might delude themselves into believing it was selfless. She was being a good daughter, they would say. But she knew better.

She was being entirely selfish.

However, Haruno never kept any of her wanton promises, never met anyone for her romantic rendezvous. She was certainly dubious in her actions but never promiscuous in her conduct.

In conclusion, Haruno never offered herself for sex but only gave an illusion of being wanted.

After all, she liked to believe there was still a chance to call herself a proper lady. She told herself repeatedly, that flirting and seducing was a part of her charm, a part of her feminine wiles. But like always, Haruno knew better.

"Are you really feeling cold Haruno-san?"

Yukinoshita Haruno blinked. Her eyes drifted back to his lounging figure, sitting rigidly on her sofa and once again she found his dead fish eyes scrutinizing her appearance. However, this time around there could be no mistake. There was definitely a touch of worry laced in his voice.

"Would you really like to know, Hachiman?" Haruno found herself asking. There was something fundamentally wrong with her. Maybe she was broken inside, lost forever in those numerous facades and fake smiles which she conjured up from thin air to please her mother.

She was her favourite daughter, after all.

But despite everything she did for her mother, for her father, for her younger sister, they would never be satisfied with her efforts.

She was never enough, Haruno thought bitterly.

Hence, Yukinoshita Haruno made it a habit to constantly seek out certain distractions to entertain her vain existence and Hikigaya Hachiman proved to be a newest addition in her collection of such individuals. He had already proved himself to be a far better substitute then Hayama Hayato, but there was always room for improvement.

And thus, Haruno found herself with Hachiman in her apartment.

"Come closer, Hachiman" Haruno crafted her voice to sound like she was pleading, like she was moments away from dying and requesting him to come closer to hear her a final wish before departing this godforsaken world.

However, needless to say, such a dramatic approach was not required. Haruno was not fooling him by any means and like she expected, her pleas should have been considered more of a command by a person like him.

"I have very sensitive ears, Haruno-san" Hachiman said from his position, refraining from looking at her direction and not even bothering to get up "I can hear whatever you say from over here" He made himself more comfortable on his seat, as if almost willing these couch cushions to swallow him whole.

Haruno raised an eyebrow at his declaration, "Well then, shall I put your ears to a test, Hachiman?" she asked. This could prove interesting. He had mistakenly given her permission to say almost anything, anything ranging from a bitter remark to a perverted comment. But then her words should serve a purpose to her overall scheme.

Hence, she chose her words carefully and uttered them in the single most, faintest voice capable of escaping her luscious lips:

"… _undress me,_ _Hachiman_ "

However, much to her amazement his sensitive ears seemed to have registered every syllable of that particular phrase. Slowly but surely, his ears began to turn red. Hachiman became incredibly flustered and began to fidget on his seat in a very noticeable manner.

Watching him lose his calm composure brought a smile to her face and Haruno gave a small giggle, "Seems you were right after all" she made her voice carry a rather patronising tone, "You seem to have sharp ears indeed, Hachiman" And just to unnerve him even further, she decided to hold his gaze for a moment longer than necessary, which she already knew would make him feel extremely uncomfortable.

"You must me joking Haruno-san!" Hachiman blurted out in a near-panicked voice. He was already facing away from her, averting his gaze from looking at her direction and Haruno was simply waiting to use this minor moment of crisis to her absolute advantage.

…Hikigaya Hachiman never saw Yukinoshita Haruno coming.

"Haruno-san!" Hachiman croaked in a much louder voice than expected.

"What's the matter, Hachiman~" Haruno cooed in a cutesy voice which made him further afraid of her. Her voice stopped matching her actions, "I was feeling very lonely over there, you know. I was feeling cold, so very cold! And you refused to listen to me. You didn't come any closer. So, I just took a small leap and landed right over here, when you weren't looking." She moved her body closer to him. "Did I do anything wrong, Hachiman?" She asked in a comically menacing voice.

"…You can answer that for yourself, Haruno-san" Hachiman said timidly.

Haruno had reduced their distance. She was now sitting right beside him. If she wanted she could move even closer, have him corner against the arms of her sofa. He was already scooting away and if she didn't stop him now, he would probably end up falling from her sofa and landing face first on her marble floor.

However, this much was to her satisfaction. She was sitting beside him. His arms were within reach. His body was at close proximity. But to Yukinoshita Haruno they seemed another piece of information which could amount to nothing of substance.

Haruno could tease him more. Make him even more flustered by increasing skin on skin contact… perhaps even give him a small peck on his right cheek.

But there was a small niggling sensation of uncertainty on that particularly bold idea. Kissing him, even if it just a small peck on the cheek would be a tad too much, a tad extreme perhaps.

But normally, Haruno would get her best laughs out of moments like these, where a person was thrust against an unimaginable situation and left to his own devices to plan a course of action.

Hachiman would never expect Haruno to kiss him. He could never even imagine her giving him a small peck on his cheek.

However, Haruno failed to take such a risk. Much to her annoyance, she could not take a chance. She could not kiss him. Maybe she didn't want to push him any further…or perhaps she felt a pang of fear.

'What if…what if…he pushed her away?'

Haruno shook her head. Such thoughts should not have any place in her mind. She could care less. After all, Hachiman was a simple distraction, a form of entertainment, in between tasks to please her mother and look out for her younger sister.

That was all, Hachiman was to her.

He could be nothing else.

She could be nothing more.

Haruno gave a humourless laugh "At least from here, you can get a better view of my breasts" She was back to being herself; back to being a beautiful façade.

She lived for these moments.

Making him grow more and more flustered, having him entirely speechless and lastly watching him blush in embarrassment, made her laugh like a young girl.

No, that would be wrong. She was a young girl. She was not like Shizuka-chan!

Perhaps, it made her laugh more like an innocent girl…before everything started to become artificial… before she crafted a façade, before she learned to fake a smile…before she became the favourite daughter of her mother.

Perhaps she enjoyed his eyes on her body. Maybe his attention was not completely unwanted. Or perhaps Haruno just found his company entertaining.

But alas such moments never last.

There was no romance, no love.

No nothing.

"I wasn't looking at your breasts, Haruno-san" Hachiman said in his awkward voice and Haruno gave him a look of admiration, simply to utter those words without stuttering even a single bit.

Maybe he was improving. Perhaps there was a chance to get something more out of this exchange.

"If I didn't know you any better, I would have mistaken you for a bad liar, Hachiman" Haruno said to him, while a smile slowly began to rest on her lips "But I know you better, don't I?"

Haruno never thought he would agree but Hachiman surprised her by nodding his head, "Maybe you do, Haruno-san" He was thinking every word, making some kind of calculation in his rotten brain, "Maybe you don't." his voice was growing lower by every passing minute.

If there was anything Haruno wanted in her entire life, after meeting Hikigaya Hachiman, it was to have this singular moment, captured in all its unadulterated glory.

Hachiman in his natural state, in his natural habitat, letting his mind work without shackles, without any kind of restraints… and challenging her mind, demolishing her constructs, uncovering her schemes.

Haruno would have loved to catch a glimpse of the inner workings of his mind, but sadly that would never be possible. He would never tell her and she would never ask.

There were some personal boundaries which even she found herself respecting.

A mind was not to be trifled with

… Especially not that of a self professed monster of logic

"Since you are feeling so cold…" Hachiman spoke in a level voice, trying to make a valid argument by sighting a proper reason. Haruno caught an underlying double meaning to his speech pattern, but choose to deliberately ignore it. Since he was challenging her, he gets a free pass…just one free pass. "…I would advise you, to button up your blouse, Haruno-san"

"Clever man" Haruno realised quite early that she had always referred to Hachiman as a man in her mind and even through her eyes, she always saw him as a man; whereas even today, she saw the likes of Hayama as a petulant child and nothing else, nothing more.

"I do try" And there, right about there! Haruno was able to detect a hint of smugness in his voice which made her want…

'Careful!' her mind snapped.

…And once again, Haruno dressed her visage with a fake façade and allowed a large and artificial smile to rest on her lips. Her voice was luxurious and forever teasing.

"Well then, you should be glad" Haruno wrapped her arms around his neck and brought her face unbearably close to his blushing countenance. Her last words felt like a warm breath against his dry lips.

"I'm sapiosexual, Hachiman"

…and Haruno laughed herself silly when Hachiman gave her a confused look at her declaration. Perhaps he was an anomaly in her social circle and maybe one day, he could be dangerous to her family.

But for today, he was her muse.

…Haruno's muse

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to wildarms13. Thanks again for advising me to write a chapter in Haruno POV!

Now this was a big chapter (2500+ words) and the site is giving me some trouble, so I had to write this whole chapter on my phone. No joke! My fingers hurt!

Anyway here are the options for the next chapter

Option one: Haruno's Sinful Touch (Present)

Option two: Yukino's Past Woe (Past)

Please, pick one

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams


	41. Chapter 41 Haruno's Touch

.

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 41: Haruno's Touch

Felt her fingers trace my cheek. Her nails scrapped my skin. There was no blood, no tears and neither was there any pain. She has pretty nails. Her hands are soft too. Her palm is really pink. Looks harmless. Yukinoshita Haruno was a beautiful woman and she was touching me in an affectionate manner. There must me something wrong happening in this world. Something my dead fish eyes cannot see. However, at times it should be remembered : Eyes deceive.

Watching her eyes, I see several emotions. A person incapable of warmth is exhuming comfort, a woman unwilling to express her motives, is letting me know many things through her touch. A caress of her fingers is wonderful. Hypnotic even. She has me dancing to her tunes. A puppet on strings.

Haruno is in her elements

And I'm out of my depths.

A woman's touch can be so soothing. Never thought it was possible. There was a melancholic strain in her touch. Of longing , of repentance, of regret. Of promise, of light, of hope. Her state of being is in a flux. She is saying so much without saying so little. She hasn't even opened her mouth yet. Her fingers are speaking their own language. Leaving a morse code for me to seek her out from this misty clouds of forbidden emotions.

Her fingers tantalise and trick me into believing her. Her next words would be truth, akin to a sermon. She is not trustworthy, my brain hisses from a dark corner. Always rotten, the cynic. A scoffer, a doubter. But my brain doesn't speak loud enough and I find myself swayed. Over exposure to her charm. Her smile. Her eyes. Her overall presence. She was fake. Yet she wanted to be real. There was a dilemma. Her façade, her numerous masks. Maybe there never was a Haruno. Always saw her, spoke to her, reacted to her, in a manner, similar to an entity. Her humaninty was exhausting. She could exist in several ways in a minute. Her eyes maligned every noticeable truth. Her nature and conduct was dubious at best. And her purpose was a mystery of infinite crisis. Manipulation. Now seduction.

Her touch has an effect. Never took drugs. Neither morphine nor cocaine.

But found myself drawn to her.

...Like a moth to a flame

/

A/N: Okay, so I tried a few things on my other fics for half a month. Didn't work out. And now I'm suffering. I mean, this is the best, I could come up with after such a long time. I'm pathetic, I know. Anyway, I will just allow my writing to take its natural course...

Also, Haruno is now the main girl of the story. And there will be 10 more chapters of Haruno x Hachiman, before others get a chance. Hurray! And start counting!

Here are the options for the next chapter.

Option One: Haruno's Fallen Mask

Option two: Hachiman's Other side

Please pick one.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams

/

P.S -If you want, I will delete this chapter.


	42. Chapter 42 Haruno's Fallen Mask

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 42: Haruno's Fallen Mask

I understood my own moral failings and acknowledged most of my own shortcomings in the face of defeat. Moreover, I never had much problem in surrendering my own being before anyone when faced with insurmountable odds during a strenuous situation.

Hence, my craft of committing social suicide was a product of my own twisted personality.

There was always a healthy dose of self-loathing involved but in the end my success would be ultimately guaranteed.

I was never bothered to take note of the cost, of my own suffering, of a few restless nights, lack of sleep and many more colourful discomforts, which were always an ensuing by-product of each one of my own employed methods.

As always, for Hikigaya Hachiman the means always justified the ends.

Unfortunately for me, Yukinoshita Haruno seemed to share this notion of mine and took it to heart…Unless she didn't have a heart which would be rather convenient to explain many of her actions.

"Do you think we will end up having sex, Hachiman?"

I blinked. Her voice was almost casual. Unnaturally casual, it seemed. I had heard people talk less causally about the kind of weather they would be having. But that was the beauty of her, her inherent quality.

She could say almost anything.

And mean absolutely nothing.

I would have admired her, if I was not being currently rendered catatonic by her scandalous query. My vocal chords produced an incoherent jumble of sounds which questioned my mental capacity to formulate a proper response to such a dangerous thought.

"Urr…urk…" I cleared my throat in an exceedingly uncomfortable manner. My rotten dead fish eyes took notice of every possible movement Yukinoshita Haruno made after floating such a thought openly amidst our heated surrounding.

She was lounging on her sofa. Her legs were pulled up and were lying leisurely upon the sofa cushions. However, if she stretched to her full length, then her legs would end up being on top of my lap!

I shook my head rather violently. Such a thought was dangerous, even more dangerous than her present line of query. I needed to approach this matter rather bluntly and leave no room for any sort of miscommunications or misunderstandings.

"I don't think we will end up having sex, Haruno-san" I said in an extremely clear voice. I ended up being surprised at my own verbal strength. This was progress. I am making progress! There was no stuttering, no mumbling.

Just a hormonal teenager, a virgin, a guy, with a sound brain, saying he would not be having sex with a beautiful, sexy, onee-san, who was hell bent on seducing him, going so far as to bring him to her empty apartment and then offering him an invitation to join her in a bubble bath in the near distinct future.

Such a thing was fairly commonplace, isn't that right? Right? I think I have just been excommunicated by the entire male population of the planet.

…even Totsuka might never forgive me.

"Oh? Why's that, Hachiman?" Haruno asked in return and to my utmost surprise, she looked a little upset.

Maybe this was another mask. She had plenty! She was a Mistress of Masks and I was a Monster of Logic. Mistress and Monster… Hmm…has a nice ring to it doesn't it.

No matter.

My present chances of survival are dwindling by the seconds. If I really managed to upset Haruno then I would be dead in the blink of an eye. I am sure I'm not exaggerating. She is just that powerful!

But right now, she has thrown another question at me and this one is even more dangerous than the last one.

"Why we won't end up having sex?" I repeated the question rather lamely to buy me some time. Seriously, how can I even come up with an answer to that? I mean, I can try the extremely embarrassing approach, which is a little close to the truth. But I'm fresh out of ideas, so this has to work.

"…I'm not ready yet." Now my voice came out in a mere mumble. All that progress which I thought I made just a moment ago was reduced to absolutely nothing! And to make matters worse, I am blushing.

"Not ready? Not ready for sex, you mean?" Haruno questioned.

Well she certainly turned that one on me.

If I could repeat a question just because I can, then so can she. It probably goes without saying, that she is better than me. But while I did that to buy me sometime, to formulate a proper response, she is probably doing it to make me more flustered. That has to be the only reason, right? Wait, did I see her fidget? Nah! Probably my eyes are playing tricks on me again. Wait a minute…when does my eyes…

"I can make you ready in under a minute, Hachiman." Haruno said, using her smooth, seductive voice.

She is wearing another mask. This time around, I didn't even see her make the switch. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe she is not a demonness. Maybe she is just sick. Like a mental patient with multiple personality disorder. That would explain so many things. Figured she would be crazy. Otherwise why would she be even trying to seduce me? What does she stands to gain by seducing me? Absolutely nothing!

And if I know one think about Haruno, it's that she always has an end game in mind. She is always working an angle. Only this time around it involves me. That's unnerving. She can't be? Is she? No! So many masks. And I can only see them one at a time.

"I'm sure you can" I said to her in a warm voice.

We both know what she meant but she couldn't have meant it. After everything is said and done neither of us thinks of the other as a puzzle. We are both trapped in a game. A game she loves to play. A game she always wins.

…But sometimes

"Whenever you are ready, Haruno-san"

She blinks…

…And her mask falls

/

A/N:

Wow! Okay then, um, definitely a bigger chapter then the last one! But I'm still not okay with my writing. It's still missing something. Until it's perfect I won't write the 'Bubble Bath' Chapter. But not to worry, there's a lot of Haruno x Hachiman action lined up!

Here are the options for the next chapter:

Option one: Haruno's Surprise Attack

Option two: Hachiman's High Horse

Please, pick one

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams


	43. Chapter 43 Haruno's Surprise Attack

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 43: Haruno's Surprise Attack

Yukinoshita Haruno believed she was better than him. Better than anyone; everyone. At least better than this and... whatever this was.

Yet, Hikigaya Hachiman had made her blink.

She was startled. Her breath was caught. He had bested her. No! She could not let this happen. She wouldn't let this happen! She was Yukinoshita Haruno. She was better! She was the best!

"Whenever you are ready, Haruno-san"

His words; his very words was a challenge to her.

To what she was. To what she represented. To everything and anything, which did not make her a Yukinoshita; he was trying to see Haruno. Just Haruno.

She wouldn't allow that to happen. No one would like what they see.

An ugly picture of a lost girl in a broken frame

There was no Haruno. There stopped being a Haruno; after the fateful day she made Yukino cry; the day she took her to the Hayama household; the day she handed her to Hayato.

The day she stopped being a good sister; a caring onee-san.

There was no Haruno.

Only Yukinoshita Haruno

"Are you alright, Haruno-san?"

Yukinoshita Haruno blinked again. She was tricked. Her saboteur was a boy; one Hikigaya Hachiman.

She was enjoying too much. The game was enthralling. But she had given him a glimpse of her cards. That will not do. That will not do, at all.

"Why wouldn't I be, Hachiman?" She asked in a low voice. Her hands splayed themselves over one of his shoulders. The boy took notice. He looked at her hands. He looked at her face. He saw something again.

This was infuriating.

"I might have misspoken, Haruno-san." His voice was calculating. He was watching her; carefully and a little scared. Retaliation or retribution; he must be wondering. Better keep him surprised. That's the game. Surprise!

"Not at all, Hachiman" She said succinctly.

Her hands squeezed his shoulders. It was supposed to be loving. Supposed to be caring. Moreover, it was supposed to lull him into a false sense of security.

No one was that good. And it was working. He didn't ignore her. He simply misunderstood her intentions. Good. This was better. She had the upper hand.

"No, it matters" His voice was tentative.

He was watching her again. His dead fish eyes were unique. To her, they never looked ugly. They looked real; how eyes really should be. The world was an ugly place. Why should our eyes be any different? They help us look. Hold up a mirror to reflect. We don't like what we see. Yet, we are incapable of doing anything. Change is not a cure. It's a promise. A broken promise:

'Mama loves you Haruno'

'I will always love you Harunee'

"Haruno-san" His voice was nearby.

She felt his hand. It was on her arm. He was trying to keep her awake; keep her from drowning. Old memories were a cesspool. They reeked; made her feel nauseated.

She wanted a bath. Too bad. Right now she was; she couldn't say weak. She was overworked; bogged down. Yes that worked; that worked perfectly. It was a reasonable explanation... In any case, she couldn't take a bath right now.

Not in her current mindset.

Because…she might actually go through with it; cut her wrists and drown in the tub…like she had thought many times before. Well at least, she would leave a clean and good smelling corpse. Even her death needed to be perfect.

Such was the burden of Yukinoshita Haruno.

She couldn't even die without a good pretence.

But suicide was just pathetic.

She had better standards.

"Hachiman" She made her voice soft.

Her hands wrapped around his. He was aware. She was awake. She would take him down. He was just another person. Another puppet. She would have plenty more. As always, there would be Hayato. She liked him. He was so easy. A carrot on a stick is all he needs.

But he was different; more of a challenge. She liked challenges. There was always a chance she could lose. That made it special. That made Hachiman…him. He could never defeat her. He was out of his depths. But given a proper incentive…she could lose.

…lose willingly.

"Are you ready Hikigaya-kun?"

Her hands tightened around his. She pushed him down. She was over him. One small instant, one moment of weakness; she seized every opportunity.

"…Haruno-san"

She placed her index finger on his mouth. Felt the moisture, the touch. His lips were dry; she had the perfect solution. A kiss would do. A kiss was enough.

To break him

…and her

"Hush"

/

A/N: A huge thanks to 'thatguywhowrote' for fixing every mistake and error in this story, which made this what it is today. You are the best, my friend. Simply awesome!

Now everyone, thank you so much! It's because of you guys that this story crossed the 1000 reviews mark! Just give yourself a hug. You guys deserve a round of applause! Also, I know this chapter doesn't do justice for the occasion, but the next one will be better. Bigger!

Here are the options for the next chapter:

Option one: Haruno's loss

Option two: Haruno's win

Please, pick one

As always, hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams

/

P.S: I tried making my sentences short because I got some complaints that I write big, paragraph length sentences which are confusing to read. So, did it work? Is this better?


	44. Chapter 44 Haruno's Loss

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 44: Haruno's Loss

Win or loss is a matter of perspective; people will tell you that. But Yukinoshita Haruno was taught a different lesson. She was young and impressionable; though never really naive. She was nutty; nutty as a squirrel, her father would say. He would smile, pat her head and leave. Her mother would stay. She would mould her child, whichever way she desired. She was a good mother. Maybe the best. But Haruno only remembered her teachings. There was no smile, no pat on the head, for a job well done. Her mother didn't call her nutty. She called her cunning. Because it was true. In a way, her mother accepted her for what she was. Her father was just too simple minded. After all Lady Macbeth pulled the strings, hatched the plan, handed the dagger. Ambitions were realised because of her. And in the end, that led to the tragedy. Well, there always comes a time to fall on one's sword; this time it was Haruno's.

"Hush"

A kiss on the lips of Hikigaya Hachiman; who would have thought? Maybe it was the mood, the closed doors and windows, the absence of company and her empty apartment. Maybe it was the feeling of him beneath her; trapped and at her mercy. Nowhere to go; nowhere to hide. This was real, this was about to happen. The look in his eyes, the twitch of his lips; all jaded and unprepared. He was tense; almost frigid. His body was betraying him. Robbing him of his first kiss; possibly Yukino-chan's first kiss- Haruno didn't know whether to call this a tragedy or a comedy.

"Is this your first time, Hachiman?" Haruno asked. For her part, she was actually trying to be nice. Well as nice as she could be. It wasn't much but it had to do. Well, he wasn't too nice as well.

"First time?" Hachiman asked. Cute. He was actually trying to play dumb. Chances of that working was absolutely zero. Why bother, one would ask. Well they probably didn't know, Hikigaya Hachiman. He wanted to preserve the status quo. And as luck would have it, Haruno wanted to destroy the status quo. Ergo, it can be said that she wanted to destroy him. That would be correct. Or no. That would be wrong. For now it was undecided. Haruno hated undecission. This would not do.

"Yes Hachiman; is this your first kiss?" Haruno made it clear.

"...No" Hachiman replied.

"No? You mean you have kissed someone before"

"Yes"

Haruno felt...something. She wasn't exactly sure what. She expected him to be...unkissed. Was that even a word? Haruno was floundering. This was not good. She was always perfect, on top her game; hell, she was ontop of him now. But someone had him first. His first kiss...Will not be hers. Did it matter? Yes! No! Fools! Haruno shook her head.

She was perfect. She was not perfect. Banish such thoughts. She was not her sis-wait a minute!

"Was it Yukino-chan?"

"...No"

Good. Why was it good? Was it because he hadn't kissed her younger sister. Did this confirmation led to something? She didn't know. And that was troublesome. Well at least he didn't beat around the bush. A simple no was enough. He sould do this often. But then there was the question:

Who stole Hachiman's first kiss?

"Was it Gahama-chan?"

"...No. And that's not her name. Why do you care Haruno-san?"

"Who says I care. I'm just curious. Was it that clingy kohai of yours?"

"No"

She didn't know. Well, it wasn't actually a problem. So what if it wasn't his first kiss. Neither was it hers. He hardly had any practice. And pretty soon she will kiss him. Kiss his rotten mouth shut.

But she needed a name; needed an answer...And not having the answer counted as a loss.

...Haruno's loss

/

A/N: Last filler chapter out. From next chapter onwards its the good stuff. And bigger chapters, I promise. Let's just say, some talk is about to happen soon. And it will give us a glimpse into HHachiman's mind and Haruno's world. Hmm...now there's an idea.

Here are the options for the next chapter:

Option one: Hachiman's Mind

Option two: Haruno's World.

Please, pick one

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams

/

P.S- Still writing shorter sentences. Is it working? Will write bigger ones from next chapter though.


	45. Chapter 45 Haruno's World

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 45: HHaruno's World

Peace of mind was a luxury nowadays. Always thought I could afford it.

I was Hikigaya Hachiman: The king of loners.

Not a prince: shirking responsibilities, running away, wooing a princess.

Nope! I was the king of all loners. And I sat on my throne with pride. I was not ashamed with what I was. Everything I was; I was because of myself: my decisions, my actions.

No one could influence me. Even decisions, of a self destructive nature, were always my choice.

I didn't do it out of niceness. I am a rotten individual. I cannot be saved.

And slowly I have begun to realise the last thing I expected: I can never find genuine. Things which I hate always find me, one way or another: A compromise for instance; a certain onee-san for another.

Yukinoshita Haruno was grilling me to give up a name: The name of the person who kissed me first.

It should be no mystery. She is clever. No. More than clever; she is outright cunning. She should have figured it out by now.

She mentioned Yukinoshita, her younger sister. Like that could happen! Then she mentioned Yuigahama; again, highly unlikely. And then it was Isshiki. Well that I can understand: She is so sly and foxy that she could steal my first kiss without me, not even knowing; her words, not mine.

Wow! That actually sounds possible.

But that didn't happen. At least I don't think it happened. But Haruno kept badgering and the names went on and on:

"It wasn't Hayama-kun, was it?"

"…"

At times I don't know whether she's joking or being serious.

Looking at her: her eyes, her face, her lips- only for an analytic purpose- I realised she was being serious. Really Haruno-san!? After you were done with all the girls in my life-again it shouldn't sound, like it sounds- you go after a guy! And that too Hayama freaking Hayato! You could have at least thought about sweet Totsuka! Now that's something I might not entirely condone: hehehe!

"Hachiman, was I right? Your smile is kinda creepy"

"What? No! Hell no! It wasn't Hayama."

"Thank god"

One would wonder how a name like Hayama Hayato got dragged into this weird conversation. For one thing, he's a guy- a total douche- but still a guy. But for some reason, his name was worthy enough to be mentioned by Haruno. Should that make me feel something: other than annoyed, irritated and infuriated.

Now, my anger had a reason: I don't like Hayama.

It's not a secret: I have said it to his face and he has said it to mine.

In a sense, we hate each other. It's the only thing we agree on- A mutual hate of one another. Maybe if Ebina knew about that she could string another one of her fantasies and faint of a nose bleed. It would make me feel happy…wait I take that back. That sounds so wrong. I mean the 'faint Ebina' part. That can stay. The other one. The…Nope I won't even repeat it. That thought has to be burned in an entire vat of gasoline.

Let's start again: Haruno was mentioning a lot of names- all girls- were suspected of stealing my first kiss. After the usual suspects, she spread the net a bit more and introduced other names: Shiromeguri-senpai, for instance.

"Nope! We were not even that close"

"Oh it doesn't bother her. Besides she likes young ones. I should know. I was her senpai"

A shiver ran down my spine.

I got a firsthand glimpse of her hidden side. It was quite disturbing to say the least. Once again this proves how much important it is to have a healthy senpai-kohai relationship. A person like Yukinoshita Haruno can be held responsible for Shiromeguri Meguri: her actions, her inactions and most importantly- her sick lust for young teens.

I should know; I was there when she accosted me in the men's bathroom.

It was an eye opening experience. Never knew she was a wolf in sheep's clothing. But then again aren't we all? We are just waiting-patiently, impatiently-for the time to strike. Unfortunately mine has passed. Or maybe it hasn't approached me yet.

"What about that fujoshi? She looks cute"

"…not kissing"

"So something more"

"…N-no"

"You are blushing, Hachiman"

Damn you Haruno-san. And damn you…I...myself? Yes. Damn myself!

Why does blood goes to my cheeks at times of embarrassment. It should be going to my brain to help me out of embarrassing situation. God of romantic comedies, get your priorities right!

First you shove me, head first into the private apartment of Yukinoshita Haruno- with no plan, no back up-And then you got us talking about kissing-names and all. Moreover I don't like all this questioning. Now that I think about it, this should have been my first grievance.

And why does the name of Ebina Hina make me blush. All I did was give her a massage. When she was-oh! Damn it! No, not again.

"There you go again. I didn't know you could blush so hard!"

"…It's not what you think, Haruno-san"

"Oh, then will you tell me what it is."

"…"

Again I can't. Ebina Hina was the first. It happened so long ago-a series of events, situations and lack of thinking-made me take certain decisions. It all started with her. No that would be wrong. It started a long before that.

I always thought anything out of the natural order will lead to calamity. Always preserve the status quo. For once I would have preferred to be in the wrong. But that was too much to ask. I was just meant to repeat my mistake-all of them.

"Miura"

"Huh?"

"It all started with Miura."

"The one who likes Hayama-kun"

A look of disbelief flashed across my eyes. Last time I heard, that wasn't public knowledge. Then again I don't know, what is anymore. Everything is shifting-our lives, our thoughts, our intentions-There is no knowing, how anyone can know stuff anymore; let alone someone of the calibre of Yukinoshita Haruno. I think she might even know the nuclear codes of our country as well.

"How did you know that?"

"I have sources"

"…Hayama"

"Only a phone call away."

Figures. Hayama is like a lost puppy when it comes to Haruno-don't know why, don't want to know how-She probably has some dirt on him; she might have them on everyone. She has to. Otherwise she wouldn't be Yukinoshita Haruno.

Knowing how close they are, how much control she has over him, I sometimes wonder what use does she have off me.

Knowing who I am, knowing what I can do, she should have realised by now that I have nothing to offer. Hayama has everything: The well trained dog looking for a bone to fetch. And Haruno will oblige him.

But the same can't be said for me. I have the benefit of experience. I have lost countless battles and they have made me enlightened to one obvious fact:

I am a loser.

"Jealous?"

"Huh?"

"Well obviously not then"

"Huh?"

By no measure can I be called completely stupid. Although Yukinoshita-the younger one-likes to point out how 'academically deficient' I am at some subjects.

This is not one of them.

I understand people-not absolutely, not correctly-but still I understand them to some extent. Now I would never boast to understand what goes on in the mind of someone like Yukinoshita Haruno, but clearly it shouldn't be that difficult. Yet, for the life of me, I can't understand where the hell jealousy comes from.

We were talking about kisses- my first kiss to be exact- and then out of nowhere, Haruno got curious. She started dropping names and I told her the truth: The names she mentioned so far did not include the name of the person who I kissed first. Wait a second. Is there a…

"Haruno-san, is there a difference?"

"What difference?"

"About um, who kissed me first? And also um, who I kissed first?"

"…they are not the same person?"

"Um…"

Okay. Now this is difficult. I think it is the same person. I mean how can I not be certain about this: Well, for one it's me, so I can't be certain about anything. But this leads to another more important question.

"Um, are there some special conditions, Haruno-san?"

"…Are you talking about a situation where you had to give mouth to mouth to a person who almost drowned?"

She paused before speaking.

Am I making her uncomfortable? Is it working? Yukinoshita Haruno has no weakness. Or is it something she just likes everyone to believe?

She is the ideal image-perfect daughter, perfect sister, perfect citizen, perfect woman-but I know one of them to be a lie.

She is not a perfect sister-not by a long shot, not by any means- and if one of them is a lie, then why not all. Everything is a lie. Ergo she is a lie. And all it takes for a lie to bare its true face is something simple:

A bigger lie

"…that was oddly specific."

"Well, did it happen?"

"Nope"

"Then what, Hachiman?"

Her playfulness was still present. But I detected a slight hint of annoyance in her voice-the extra stress on my name, the lack of candour-it's getting to her for some reason.

In the beginning she was the one badgering me, pestering me-for a name, any name-but now at least, I think I have a slight advantage:

Weaving words.

There is a reason such a phrase exists. I am good with words-really shifty, iffy with the details, using odd phrasings- it's among one of my 108 loner skills. I should have used this a long time ago. But unfortunately it doesn't always work on Haruno-san. She is far too clever for my own good. But not right now. I have an opportunity.

Loner skill #1 is selected!

"Nothing, I just want to make sense of some stuff?"

"Make sense of what? Either someone kissed you or not."

"I wish if it were that simple"

"Huh? Now you are really being stupid"

Loner skill #1 is full proof.

It always works despite condition- unrelated factors, miserable circumstances, insurmountable odds-it always works. The genius lies within simplicity.

It isn't said often enough: The obvious is the most elusive at times. Similarly, the most simple of facts requires a complex understanding.

By no standards-except my own-can I be called anything other than intelligent. I am not capable of many feats-except those which fall under my 108 loner skills-Yet, in my own humble opinion I have a mind-like everyone-However unlike everyone, I don't tend to exalt its glories.

The mind is capable of only one thing: Causing harm.

It doesn't matter whether it's on a global scale or on a miniscule level. The human mind when put to its optimum use can cause the most damage. In essence it's the greatest weapon of mankind. And we were born with it.

People try to sugar coat it. We have done good things- the good outweighs the bad-everyone says. It's a good excuse. Helps us fall asleep, have a dream instead of a nightmare.

But my mind is different. I don't have the brain of a genius-a scientist who can make nuclear weapon was not my design. But those without a big brain, still have a mind. And my object is only Haruno.

She has the brain to take down the world.

But my mind is proving to be a challenge.

…if only she knew

"What if she asked?"

"Asked what, Hachiman?"

My plan required obtuseness. But my words required sophistication.

It is not easy. Often times it's a thin line. Being vague-going for the less is more approach- it works but only on a few people. Haruno-san was never one of them. But like they say: Never say never.

"What if she asked me…"

"Asked what?"

Halting voice, tasking her patience, making her wait- these are my cardinal sins. I committed them, while fully knowing the outcome. In a way I desire the outcome. I want to make her break out of herself. It's not for the greater good, there is no ulterior motive.

I just want her to…crack.

Perfection has one flaw: The Perfection itself.

It's difficult to ascertain. But once grasped it can be utilised rather craftily. It could almost be called an art. There is an effort- a conscious, often time's subconscious one perhaps- to be perfect. It requires work. Hence, perfection is always in a state of flux.

Even the best of diamonds need to be cut properly to be termed perfect.

…Haruno is not perfect. She is not a good older sister. I know that, she knows that. I can exploit it. But she deserves better than that. I am better than that. Yet there is another way. For now, I hide this option safely in the dark recesses of my mind.

For now I use my skill.

"…what if she asked me to kiss her?"

"…"

And I catch a slight tremor-a twitch in her lips- It's enough for me. I cannot hear her inner workings. But I imagine them crumble from within. This is a dangerous gamble. I am playing with fire. But what matters most is I'm playing.

Skill #1: Dummy Hikki.

…Is now initiated.

Haruno-san wanted my mind to be her world.

...Haruno's world

Unfortunately for her, someone must have forgotten to mention it: My mind is a rotten place.

Visitors are unwelcome.

/

A/N: Finally a big chapter (over 2400 words+). Yeah I really needed a chapter like this.

Okay, now it would be really helpful if I got some feedback on my writing. I used (-) and (:) for the first time in my writing and I'm hoping it helped with breaking the large sentences. So, I need some response to that. Also its Hikki POV. Which I'm not really good at. So lots to tell me. Also, as always:

Here are the options for the next chapter:

Option one: Hachiman's lies.

Option two: Hachiman's truth.

Please pick one

Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams


	46. Chapter 46 Haruno's Bold Confession

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 46: Haruno's Bold Confession

Words are hurtful.

" _You will die alone Hikitani-kun"_

We always try in vain to rise above the hurt but in the end, it's all rather foolish. Words are meant to cause hurt. Then again, not everyone's words are hurtful. There is no equality in words. We say things differently all the time. Yet, at a moment of impulse, at a moment of weakness, we allow ourselves to indulge in pain. It's not beautiful. We cause pain, knowing; only we can cause it. Instead of being discouraged, we are encouraged. Causing pain fills us with glee. It makes us feel worthwhile. Worthiness is a different thing altogether. Making a girl cry, should not make a person feel proud of himself. In hindsight, Hachiman had not seen her cry. He had just seen her retreat. It was an awful picture- The great Yukinoshita Haruno retreating within her shell.

" _Haruno-san shares a deep connection with me"_

Hachiman knew what he was doing; at least that's what he liked to tell himself. He had told a lie-there were elements of truth scattered-but it was a lie nonetheless. Yuigahama Yui might not understand the beauty of a lie and Yukinoshita Yukino might think it to be an ugly truth, but the working of a simple lie, can be deemed beautiful. Hachiman was certain, that if there was anyone, who could understand this, then it was Yukinoshita Haruno.

" _She knew me since I was a little kid"_

Haruno was special. He realised this after she left him, sitting in the sofa of the living room. He did not move, he just sat there and watched her head inside her bedroom. He didn't follow her; there was no need to follow her inside her private sanctum. Her bedroom was out of bounds. It was sacred grounds. Not many people will understand this, but when a girl heads inside her bedroom, it is a silent order to cease and desist, whatever activities that has been happening till now.

" _You could say, it was love at first sight"_

Hachiman was afraid. Logically, when one act ends another begins. He had been cooped up in her empty apartment for a couple of hours. All they had done is talk. She had told lies, he had told lies. The truth was never far away from them but it was never spoken aloud. On a fundamental level, Hachiman enjoyed her company. Haruno was an intelligent girl, she was cunning and blunt. There was no tip-toeing around her. She didn't give people a chance to hide, even though that's what she did best. Talking to her was actually a bit freeing. She didn't judge, she just listened and teased occasionally.

" _Our families will bring about a union"_

So far, their talk had been like usual. Although, Hachiman never talked to anyone for such a long period, talking to Haruno didn't feel like a chore. She kept him always on high alert. It was tasking but not revolting. He didn't feel like his brain cells were dying by the seconds. Instead it felt like they were being beaten into submission.

" _Haruno Hayama has a nice ring to it, doesn't it Hikitani-kun"_

But now, another act in their play was about to begin. Haruno was in her bedroom. Hachiman was in the living room. The main door was still locked from the inside. He was still trapped. She still had all the pieces. There had only been a moment of weakness. Hachiman had taken many hits. Haruno had taken only one. But in the end, he needed only one. Until and unless…

"Sorry for making you wait, Hachiman"

"No problem, Haruno-san"

Hachiman tried not to remember the talk he had with Hayama back in the day. He was a douche and probably wanted to hurt him over some reason. He also didn't like the fact that Hayama saw through him like clear water. He hadn't been thinking about Haruno-there was no reason to think about her- but then Hayama came and just broached the topic. It was the first time they talked about a woman. It was a weird conversation to say the least.

"You are thinking about something aren't you Hachiman?"

"You know me too well Haruno-san"

"That I do"

His first mistake was not to turn around when he first heard her voice. Maybe he wanted to give her another couple moments of privacy. It was her apartment and even though she had invited him in, he felt like he was intruding. He listened to her foot falls on the cold floor; he listened to her approaching him from behind. He kept his face, facing forward. He was staring into a blank wall, trying to make it look interesting. It was the small chink of glass that made him aware of her presence. The sound of glass on glass was a warning.

"…" Hachiman turned his head around and opened his mouth. He took a mouthful of air and closed his mouth. Then he blinked a couple of times. Before him, Haruno allowed a small smile to grace her lips. So far, he had been acting like he was expected. Behind the entire cold and cynical outlook, there was a young adolescent boy. She was a young girl herself, but compared to him, she was different altogether. She was more aware of her sexuality. She could use it to her advantage.

Another clink of glass on glass sounded through the silence of the apartment. Hachiman looked at her right hand. The bottle looked brand new, recently opened. The droplets of water visible on the outer glass, spoke of the onset of chill settling in the air. Despite himself, he kept his eyes on the bottle. The visible red liquid swirling inside the bottle spoke of an ominous turn of fortune. Hachiman was not prepared for this.

"Is that…" He left the rest unsaid. His rotten dead fish eyes were working overtime. First there was the bottle of red wine she was carrying in her right hand. Her left hand was holding onto a glass goblet. It was not an ordinary glass. It was made specifically to have alcoholic beverages. Haruno was carrying this goblet by the stem. It was dangling easily from her dainty fingers.

After watching the bottle of wine and the glass goblet, his dead fish eyes, finally took a moment to rest. They blinked and squinted, almost trying in vain to vanish the image they were seeing before them. Hachiman heard himself gulp down his fears. His throat had gotten dry but he didn't want to give Haruno a reason to pour him a drink. Alcohol was the last thing both of them needed at the moment.

"Haruno-san" He had difficulty pronouncing her name. His eyes were growing heavy with desire. It was a very heady feeling. It was common knowledge that Yukinoshita Haruno was a beautiful woman. While her younger sister, Yukinoshita Yukino, was an elegant beauty of a cold visage, her elder sister, Yukinoshita Haruno, was a warm blooded woman of temptation and wantonness. Hachiman had seen her before, attempting to perplex him, with her feminine charms. But this was different. She had never used her beauty to such a disparaging length. It was destructive beauty at its finest. Such an image was bold enough to emblazon itself in his mind forever.

"Haruno-san" Hachiman licked his lips. He tried to talk to her face, but his eyes kept lowering themselves to her bare skin, "You seem to have forgotten an apparel of clothing" He tried to be obtuse, using big words, to make his discomfort more hidden.

Haruno saw through his weak attempts, "No I didn't Hachiman" she said easily. She lowered the bottle of wine and the glass goblet on the coffee table. Once again there was the sound of glass making contact with glass. It was a distinctive etch. It was enough to draw his attention back to her face. The coffee table was made of glass. It made everything transparent. He could see her bare legs. It was an enticing image. Long legs, going up and up, and vanishing beneath a comfy sweatshirt; a person could look at her from the ground up. However, Hachiman had the distinction of looking at her from the head down.

Haruno wasn't wearing a bra. This much was certain. Hachiman knew he was looking at her bare breasts, covered only in the soft cotton fabric of her sweatshirt. He could make out the hardened surface of her nipples, brushing against the material of her clothing. The twin spots were visible before his naked eyes. Without a bra, her breasts looked bigger. It was the best optical illusion, his eyes had ever seen. On some level, Hachiman knew that he was making a complete idiot out of himself. He was staring at her breasts like they were not covered with a sweatshirt. They were indeed covered, but her secret was spilling inside and an uncomfortable heat was spreading over his own body.

Haruno raised one of her arms and used it to cover her breasts, "You could burn a hole in my chest, with all that staring Hachiman" she said in a small scolding voice. Her breasts piled up. Again, the smooth sound of her skin on skin provided a loving contrast to that made against glass on glass.

"Sorry" Hachiman wasn't nearly apologetic. Haruno was wearing a grey sweatshirt. The round collar was worn and it stretched to an extensive degree. He could make out the distinct nature of her collar bone. When she turned, he made out the prominent nature of her shoulder blades. The fabric of the cloth was extremely thin. It was like it wasn't even there. Such a type of clothing shouldn't be called a piece of clothing at all. It covered only in namesake. Thought, he couldn't see her creamy skin and though it was covered with this sheath of cotton fabric, he could watch the contours of her body, when they made the smallest of movements. Her breasts jostled heavily, at having the restraints of a bra removed from her skin at the moment. Hachiman could also, see the droplets of sweat accumulating in the valley of her breasts. The collar was round and big and Haruno was very accommodating. She bent forward and Hachiman caught sight of her exposed flesh. Her words almost sounded faint to his ears, "I hope you don't mind, Hachiman" she was saying, "I felt like slipping into some more comfortable pieces of clothing."

"Piece" Hachiman said voluntarily. He looked at her bare thighs and calves "Singular" The hem of her sweatshirt was extremely short. There was a reason that it should have been worn with a pair of sweat pants. But Hachiman didn't complain. He liked legs. Longer legs the better. He wasn't being a pervert; he was just admiring the view. Legs were nice. He hadn't touched her yet and he wasn't going to. It was going to take a lot of self control on his part, but he was bound to succeed.

Haruno was not wearing pants. It was her home. She can do whatever the hell she wants! Hachiman was a guest. He shouldn't complain on her choice of clothing or lack thereof. Like she said, she was only getting comfortable. There wasn't anything sexual about this experience. A woman in a large grey sweatshirt, sans pants, was quite a norm. It wasn't sexy. He wasn't fooling anyone but he was fooling himself. That was enough.

"You should get comfortable yourself too" Haruno said. She had returned to her seat by his side. The sofa was large enough to accommodate both of them but at the moment, it was feeling very short of space and short of breath. Hachiman looked sideways. His mistake. "You should take it easy, you know" Haruno snaked her way into his personal space. Soon he felt her hands on his chest. She was fiddling with his school blazer.

"Haruno-san" His voice sounded less and less gravely. By now, it came out almost as a plea.

Haruno gave him a coy look, "What now~" she cooed, "I got comfortable and seeing you all dressed up in your school uniform is making me uncomfortable" She splayed her hands over the lapels of his blazer and gave them a small tug, "This comes off"

Hachiman was almost motionless. He felt Haruno pull him up by his lapels. Both of them were now standing. The sofa was beside them. Then slowly Haruno moved her hands inside and put them on his shirt. With a small fluid movement, she began to lower the collar of his blazer. Slowly and slowly, he turned reluctantly and finally with the fewest of movements, his blazer had come off, "Much better" Haruno said. She looked at him, now dressed only in his shirt and pants. She had his blazer now completely off from his body. She brought his blazer close to her body and sighed deeply, "It's still warm" Haruno murmured, "I can feel your body heat, Hachiman"

He thought she was done. That was not the case. With his blazer gone, now only remained his shirt. Haruno was looking at him with a mixture of emotions. Her hands once again found a button. She fiddled with his collar. "Haruno" He groaned, "Don't" he implored. Both of them were feeling the heaviness of her decisions. With the blazer coming off, now she was fidgeting with another layer of clothing. This was too much. Yet, he hadn't made much of a vocal protest.

"Don't what" Haruno asked. Her fingers swiftly removed a button from its designated spot. His collar was undone. The black undershirt he wore underneath was slowly becoming visible. "I'm only making you feel more comfortable" Another button was taken out of the line of straps. Two buttons undone; he was feeling warm. Her hands were working their magic. He was being lulled into a false sense of security. Her hands were soothing to touch. They felt great on his chest. He could feel them brush over the fabric of his shirt. "One more button" Haruno groaned. Her breaths fogged his vision. But his brain came to a halt. Embarrassment rang anew. His hands found her wrist. The force of movement was lithe. It was barely a suppressed touch.

"I'm not comfortable, Haruno-san"

She looked into his eyes. They saw the vulnerable disposition of his rotten being. Haruno could be half naked and Hachiman would find it beautiful and sexy. But having him, without his shirt was an equally great prospect as well; this Haruno couldn't make his understand. He was handsome. His eyes weren't a problem.

"Then let's get comfortable, Hachiman"

The alcohol was a bad idea.

/

A/N: Okay so this is a big chapter (2500 words!) Basically Haruno is taking the reins of the confrontation. Clothes are coming off and people are getting comfortable. Here are the options for the next chapter:

Option one: Haruno and Hachiman get drunk

Option two: Only Hachiman gets drunk.

Please, pick one

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter

Leave lots and lots of review, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams


	47. Chapter 47 Drunken comforts

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 47: Drunken Comforts

She started pouring.

The red liquid dribbled down from the neck of the bottle and swished into a clear, red liquid form, before settling into a frothing, bubbly state, at the base of the wine flute. The glass goblet was slowly getting filled. The wine kept pouring and pouring. The red liquid was getting filled in the glass. The brim was close. Haruno didn't stop. She tilted the bottle some more. The angle was just perfect. Hachiman could see the glass getting filled; he could see the bottle emptying. The only thing he couldn't see was the purpose of pouring a drink. He kept most of his questions to himself. After a couple more moments, where the only sound was that of red liquid streaming and falling into a glass surface, finally Haruno set the bottle and the goblet on top of the coffee table. Her action was complete. Now only remained was to give it a taste. She licked her lips.

"Would you care for a sip, Hachiman?" Haruno asked. "I poured this glass just for you. Thought we would celebrate us being less…us" She raised the goblet in question. "And a little more someone else" The red liquid swirled for a moment, by her movements before once again settling inside the glass surface. Her sweatshirt was covering only her torso. "You know what I mean" It moved a little and exposed more than a little amount of skin. Her legs rubbed together and folded beneath her supple form. "Don't you?" The static electricity could almost be seen. Hachiman only focused on her face and then on her hand. The goblet asked a deeper question. He tried to be evasive.

"I don't drink Haruno-san" He murmured softly. "Also what is there to celebrate" The bottle mocked his stupidity. "I haven't done anything yet" The red wine seemed to roll its imaginative eye. "And you have only been successful in keeping me put" Haruno only raised her eyebrow. "It's takes an admirable effort to accomplish something like that" She placed the glass back onto the coffee table. Her hands gently stroked his knee. Thank god he was wearing pants. "But in the larger scope of things, we haven't done much" Having only one person, half naked in the living room was a bit too much. The sexual tension could be felt. "Don't get me wrong. I'm thankful we haven't done anything else" Only problem was there was no knife, to cut it and remove it, from their vicinity. Hachiman had to suffer alone.

"I didn't hear you say no to drinking, Hachiman" Haruno offered. "You only said you don't drink" She scooted closer to him. "That's different" He knew what she was trying to do. "You might not have drunk alcohol before" She was trying to get into his personal space. "Maybe no one was kind enough to offer you a glass" A deep, passionate reaction was the need of the hour. "But I'm offering you a taste" Pity, she wasn't going to get one, that much was certain. "It would be horrible to waste such a good drink" Hachiman had thought of many things and having a drink with Haruno, didn't feature in his list of discomforts. "Don't you think?" Also, he had the moral high ground.

"There's nothing there to think" Hachiman said, "Legally both of us can't drink. We are too young" It felt great having the law on your side. "And given our state of…whatever this is, I think it's a bad idea" It was like society was fighting your battles for you. "We might do something that we might regret" He thought he had made a winning argument but he was wrong. "I might say something that can't be taken back" Haruno had other ideas. "I might end up doing something too. It's not safe" She didn't necessarily have the high moral ground that he wished for so much.

"I will keep my mouth shut" Haruno said seductively. "We don't have to think this through" Her bare legs reached forward and gently stroked his covered legs. "It will be our very own secret" The contact was distracting and enticing altogether. "A naughty little secret, if you want" He knew she was trying to get under his skin but he never thought she would take the direct approach, "C'mon Hachiman. Live a little!" her voice was simply delicious. "What's there in always playing it safe" The sweet melody had an acquired taste very much like alcohol. "Let's do something reckless" Over exposure to her had been his downfall. "Let us be someone else" He was actually thinking about entertaining her. "It feels great to pretend" This had to stop. "You should give it a try sometimes." But he wasn't protesting as much as he would have liked.

"We have only one glass" Hachiman was grasping at straws. He was arguing in rhetoric and trading in semantic. The lack of glass wasn't a problem. Haruno could easily get up and sashay her way into the kitchen. There she could have found another glass. He would have the luxury of watching her retreat again. Only this time around his gaze would be fixed on the dangerously swaying hemline of her sweatshirt. Any amount of exposure could equal nirvana. She was practically naked from the waist down. Her long legs were a bonus. He wasn't thinking clear enough. Maybe that was the idea, behind losing her pants. It was simply genius.

"Glasses aren't the issue Hachiman" Haruno said in a small scolding voice. She clicked her tongue. The sound should have meant her impatience was straining. But it was actually rather cute. His rotten brain was coming up with other more salacious adjectives by the minute. He was done for. "The only issue is whether you will drink or not?" Haruno raised the goblet again. The red wine inside seemed to be keeping his attention. It moved to and fro. He lost his focus. He needed a better argument.

"Ladies first" Being polite was the way to go. If Haruno took the first sip, then he didn't have to. His logic was superb. He wondered whether she had the stomach for alcohol. Then again, a drunken Haruno would be more pliable for his situation. But it was highly unlikely for her to get drunk with just a single glass of alcohol. Suddenly, the big bottle of red wine, sitting innocently on top of the coffee table looked promising.

"But you are a guest in my home Hachiman" Haruno argued back, "You should have the first sip" Logic was a double edged sword. At one moment it was his for the taking and at another it was his for the giving. Haruno had him dead to rights. There was no excuse to make. Correction. There weren't any new excuses to make. He didn't think the old one would work anymore. There were only so many time, you could say, that you are too young for alcohol. Sooner or later it loses effect. Then you start feeling self conscious. Now that's a bad way to be.

"One sip" Hachiman conceded. "Nothing more, okay?" He eyed the red liquid with apprehension. This wasn't going how it was supposed to. He shouldn't be having his first drink with Haruno. He wasn't the sentimental sort and neither would he have any nostalgic connection with this moment, sometime in the future. Still, it felt wrong.

"That's all I ask" Haruno said. "I just want you to loosen up a little" She brought the glass goblet to him. He took it from her hand. This was the moment of truth. Haruno was staring at him with open eyed amazement. She didn't think, it would be this easy. Still, she kept her fingers crossed.

"…"Hachiman took a small tentative sip. He closed his eyes and savoured the taste. "That was…"It was a little tangy and lot of acidic. The taste of some kind of sweet fruit was strong. Maybe it was grapes. Perhaps it was apples. He couldn't know for sure. "Well, that was…new" He was out of words. His first taste of alcohol was a bit surprising. "I never thought I would be having this with anyone" He always thought he would have beer first. Wine tasted different. It was less burn then he wished. It was actually a little soft and pleasurable on the way down his throat. "Especially you" Maybe he was looking too much into it. It was just red wine. Was it imported? The label was…unimportant.

"Did you have someone else in mind, Hachiman" Haruno took the glass from his hand. "Someone else to share a drink" The red wine was only a little less from before. "Some other girl" He had taken a very small sip. "Maybe the one you kissed" Yet, he could feel the after taste on his tongue. "Was it someone, I know" It was not really bad. "Was it my sister?" He could get used to it, get used to this. The thought was scary enough to startle him. He ignored her queries in the mean time.

"Shouldn't you be getting another glass, Haruno-san" Hachiman asked. He eyed her carefully. He didn't know what she would do next. As always she managed to surprise him yet again. By now he should have gotten used to being surprised.

Haruno drank straight from his glass. "Ah~" Her voice was rich and melodious to his ears. The faint blush appearing on her cheeks were a result of the alcohol. At least that's what he told himself. Hachiman was a goner. "The wine tasted much better then I remember" Haruno replied. She snaked both her arms around his neck and brought her face very, very close to his, "Maybe it's the company" One of her hands still held the goblet. The red liquid had disappeared quite a lot. "Or maybe it the taste of your lips on the glass" He had never seen Haruno drink before. Maybe he was missing out. She looked beautiful with a glass in her hand. "I wouldn't know" The colour on her cheeks was very fetching. It was lovely.

Both of them held together onto one another. The tight embrace was not completely admirable. He also managed to put his arms around her shoulder. He gave a few awkward pats on her back as well. Haruno appreciated the humour of the situation. She brought her legs up. The bare skin was soft to the touch. Hachiman was very much aware of it. He told himself repeatedly that he touched her bare skin by accident. The alcohol was affecting him. It wasn't his fault.

"You can keep your hand on top my thighs, Hachiman" Haruno implored in a soft voice. Her voice was coming from the crook of his neck. She was nestled there in his warmth. The glass goblet dangled dangerous behind his back. The liquid swished to and fro. "I like your hands" she said. "They are warm and safe" Her hair was shorter then her sisters. Yukinoshita Yukino had longer hair. He liked her look. But Haruno's hair was perfect in its own right. It was soft and smooth. He brought his hand up to swipe away few of her wayward tresses. She grabbed onto his hand. "Your hand is so big" She allowed her own hand to be encapsulated within his larger ones. Knowing nothing else to do, he gave her hand a small squeeze, "You can be so gentle sometimes" She brought her other hand around. It was the hand holding the drink. It hovered before his mouth. "Have another drink, Hachiman" Her voice was small. But it sounded like an order. He could do nothing else but obey. He took another sip from her offered drink. This sip was bigger than the last one. She tilted the glass into his mouth. After a few gulps, the goblet was almost empty. By now Haruno had moved closer into him. She was sitting almost in his lap. She somehow managed to make herself appear small then she really was. It was an optical effect, a play of light. The light seemed dim in her apartment.

"The wine is having a wonderful effect on you" Haruno said smoothly. She took the glass goblet and brought it to her lips. She had given him a mouthful of the liquid a moment ago. Now it was her turn. She drank the remainder of the liquid. It poured down her throat in a gentle manner. Afterwards, she sighed in relief, "I think it is having a nice effect on me as well" The glass goblet was now empty. She placed it back on the coffee table. Both of them had finished the glass. All the alcohol was gone. If things continued, then they would surely get drunk. Maybe that was the idea.

Haruno jostled slightly in his lap. Hachiman placed both his hands on her waist. They fell in together. It wasn't falling really. They just settled in together. It was a moment of clarity offered by the wine.

"Drinking from the same glass" Haruno said in a humourless voice, "If we were in love, it would have been so romantic" She raised her index finger and gently rubbed it over his jaw. The effect wasn't ticklish. It was almost pleasing. Hachiman sighed into her touch.

"Good thing, we are not in love then" Hachiman said in a gravelly voice. He blamed it on the gravity and the gentle pull of her fingers. His mouth was getting lower. Her lips were parting slowly. The air between them was getting hotter. There breathes was getting mixed together.

"Yes, it's a good thing" Haruno tangled her fingers in his hairs. "Now stop talking" Her order rolled swiftly off her tongue. Then, among other things, her lips captured his.

The kiss came naturally to both of them.

/

A/N: Yup, that finally happened! Haruno kissed Hachiman! Don't worry the other girls will get a chance as well. But first, let Haruno have her way with him.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams


	48. Chapter 48 Difficult choices

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 48: Difficult choice

Haruno needed a fresh perspective. As always she decided upon a nice warm bubble bath to soothe her nerves. She didn't mind the fact that she was hosting a guest. The door to her bathroom would be open. He could join her if he wanted but she already knew he wouldn't be bold enough to take such a risqué chance. Still, a girl could hope. The open door was an invitation.

However, Haruno detested half measures when it came to taking care of herself. She needed a calm and soothing environment to clear her mind from the awful fog of indecisions. She took a few scented candles out from a small cabinet and lit them. Then she poured a generous amount of some special oil and added a mixture of rejuvenating salts into the bath water and gave it a few good swirls with her hand. The water was just in the right temperature. Finally, she tore open a small packet and added a solution which was guaranteed to produce copious amounts of bubbles for her bath. Everything was coming along perfectly. The dimmed lights added to the atmosphere. After the preparations were taken care of, there was only one thing left to do. She slipped out of her sweatshirt and gently lowered herself into the warm water of her bathtub.

A grateful sigh left her lips, "Waah" She was certain he heard her. Her voice echoed slightly from the walls of her bathroom. It must have carried through to him. It wasn't done on purpose but she waited patiently for a response from his nonetheless. Unfortunately she heard none. It would be a lie to say that she wasn't disappointed. Still, she was planning on taking a long bath. They had time to get used to the idea. Meanwhile, she could drown her discomforts in these soothing waters; she could hide her anxieties below this thin sheet of colourful bubbles and finally rest safely, knowing the steam would keep her warm and rise above the troubles, plaguing her aching heart and tingling skin. The warm water splayed across her naked skin, the heat was felt deep inside her bones and her hair was slowly getting soaked. She had half a mind to splash the water around like a kid, but thought otherwise. Instead she tilted her head back and adjusted herself comfortably inside the bathtub. The water rose and then settled. She relaxed and closed her eyes.

Thinking about the kiss brought a small tint of pink on her cheeks. It was short and sweet and should have meant something. She was still a girl at heart. Every kiss held a meaning to her. The one she shared with Hikigaya Hachiman left many things in the open air. The meeting of eyes, the awkward pause, the troublesome wait of not knowing what to expect next and then the initiation, the arousal and the sweet release of pleasure; everything happened between mingled breaths and borrowed seconds. It left her wanting more and him offering more than he was allowed. She decided to take the weight of his chest. Leaving was the hard part. Him not stopping her was just painful. It would have only taken a small whisper of his voice, a negligible touch of his fingers, to make her waver. But he didn't. Hachiman liked to play the waiting game, but she had waited enough.

"I'm going to prepare a bath" Haruno had offered, "You are welcome to join me"

"…" Hachiman had nodded his head wordlessly. His eyes were glossed and foggy, the workings of his intricate brain warning him of the risks and dangers of allowing this small indulgence of the flesh. In the end his brain won over, "Okay then" He had removed his hands from her waist. "I won't keep you waiting" The loss of contact made her strengthen her resolve. She didn't need him. She liked to bathe alone. It was a luxury that she was offering him which he had thanklessly declined. It was his loss and she would make him pay for it later.

Unbeknownst to Haruno, Hachiman was already paying dearly for his mistake. He had made so many, he had lost count but refusing her kind offer to enjoy a bubble bath together would surely cost him.

For his part, he didn't understand the appeal of a bubble bath. Not saying, that he couldn't admire her naked form, lounging beneath bubbly water and hidden behind soap suds, but still, the idea lost its appeal when he added himself to the mix. He could watch her taking a bath but he couldn't join her and sadly enough, there was no way he could say this without infuriating her. He managed that just fine.

But that wasn't the least of his troubles, "I would give you the courtesy of keeping the door unlocked" Haruno had said lightly after drawing her sharp breath and withdrawing herself from him.

She had ended the kiss abruptly and he had taken his hands off her swiftly, lest he offended her in some other way.

He had already offended her by refusing to join her in the bathtub. The look of annoyance was short lived on her features and his mind was befuddled enough to not make too much sense of it. He watched her getting up from his lap and then walking leisurely to the main door. She took out the key and unlocked the door. "There" she said with a note of finality, "You are welcome to leave". He was quick to respond, "Are you asking me to leave?" he had asked. The small amount of hurt in his voice was easily ignored. He wondered if this was the result of their kiss. She kissed him; she didn't like the kiss, so now she wanted him to leave.

However, she laid his worries to rest, "I'm not saying anything" She picked up the key and curled her fists around it, "All I am saying is, I will not be forcing my company on you any longer" She made her way to the bathroom, "You are free to do whatever you want" The door opened with a soft click, "I intend to have a bath and I will have one" Much to his chagrin, she left the bathroom door completely ajar.

He could see her moving about inside, opening and closing cabinets and taking out several things that seemed necessary for her proposed bubble bath. There was a small pause in her movements. She turned around and glance at him. Her expression was completely open. She did not plead. She ordered. "Don't waste my time, Hachiman"

Her words rebuked no argument. He averted his eyes from her direction. She was done with him. He had finally made her lose her patience with him. He should have been happy.

This was the plan; make her so angry with him that she will throw him out of the apartment.

It worked. The door to his freedom was unlocked. He could walk away from her. Yet, they had kissed and her taste lingered in his mouth. She had him hot and bothered and slightly aroused. It was an odd feeling. He couldn't, but he really should.

Hachiman stood up.

He looked at the direction of the bathroom. The door was open. There was a swift fluid movement. He quickly averted his eyes. Haruno wasn't fooling around. She didn't care anymore. All sense of shyness had evaporated. He just watched her take off her sweatshirt in full display. She had been gloriously naked for a couple of moment before his very own eyes. Reflexively, he averted his gaze from her. He could pretend he saw nothing. Her nakedness was an illusion.

"Waah" She did not moan. He misheard. He was running out of excuses. He was standing in the middle of the living room like an idiot. Haruno was toying with him again. She was lounging in a sea of bubbles and making him pace over a floor of needles. It was completely unfair.

To his right, was the way out; he could leave forever and he was very certain she wouldn't be following him anytime soon. But to his left, was his way to her. He could make amends. He could watch her bathe in a wonderful display of openness and nakedness that he had never seen before. It was a true battle of the brain and the heart.

Hachiman was faced with a difficult choice.

/

A/N: Okay, so I initially planned this chapter to be the big finale to the 'Haruno arc' but then I decided to shorten it because I didn't get any votes on the two choices in the polls. There wasn't a single vote! So I decided to try the old approach. I will give the choices in the end of each chapter again. So, without further ado:

Here are the options for the next chapter:

Option one: Hikigaya leaves Haruno.

Option two: Hikigaya joins Haruno in the bathroom

Please, pick one

Hope everyone liked this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams


	49. Chapter 49 Beneath Bubbles

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 49: Beneath bubbles

She wore glasses.

After much indecision, he had given into the urge and traversed the threshold of this bold venture and when he finally peeked his head through the entrance that led into her bathroom, it was the first thing his rotten dead fish eyes saw; a set of glass spectacles sitting sweetly on her nose.

For some reason, the image struck an endearing note and a swift sense of déjà vu. He thought there would be other kinds of stirring moving across his skin and making him take a couple more steps to her side, but he was happy leaning against the door frame and trying to affect an air of nonchalance.

He never saw a woman at such an ethereal level of peace and he never expected his first experience of such a tranquil resonance to follow after a chance meeting with her.

Everything was superimposed; the dim light illuminating the tiles and floor, the exotic candles adding a dream-like mysticism and enchantment into the macabre, the various aromas, intoxicating most of his senses.

He could not avert his gaze from the carefully crafted candescence.

A small, knowing sound of wavering water and floating foam, splashing and spilling and flowing, made him acutely aware of the female occupant and her recent proclivities. She was a constant curse on his existential existence and he was contemplating an explanation for his lapse of judgment.

"You stayed."

"I did."

Haruno looked into his eyes; doubt, distrust, disbelief- all and nothing, nothing yet everything-were reflected back from his gauging gaze.

Hachiman kept his shoulders straight, his arms remained unmoving, his posture defensive. He seemed prepared for anything out of the ordinary to happen any second now.

"And you came in."

"…I was only worried."

Evasive, cagey, shifty; all in all, he looked like everything except for a normal guy, who would walk in on a girl taking a bubble bath, obviously completely naked, in her empty apartment.

Luckily for him, Haruno took not a lot of offense at his lack of excitement at seeing her in this submerged state of exposed desires.

A smile spoke volumes for either of them.

"Worried I would kill myself in the bath tub, eh, Hikigaya-kun?" She removed a stray, wet hair from splaying against the skin of her forehead and gently tucked it behind her right earlobe; an action more reminiscent of her younger sister, Yukino.

He bristled, witnessing the twisted familiarity and her lips curled involuntarily in a sickly, sweet smile. "They show in movies and shows how the love interest of the hero; the stupid girlfriend or the naïve wife, commits suicide by slicing her wrists and dying in the bathtub. The water slowly turns a dark, dreadful shade of red, from the blood flowing through her cut vein and leaves a horrific imagery for the hero to discover at the climax of the show or movie. And then, the hero, overcome by grief and guilt, takes some drastic measures, to set things right- Kill some stooges, blows stuff up and get the bad guy; the big, bad villain!" She scoffed, her hands coming up and gently pushing away a large cluster of pink coloured bubbles. Moving them away made many things visible; many, many things. Beautiful, naked things.

"I thought taking a bath would relax you, Har-" Hachiman stopped abruptly from saying her name.

Haruno had switched back to addressing him by his last name again, throwing the honorific 'kun' for good measure. Had there been another change in their status quo within a few moments? He had kept her waiting for only ten minutes.

Was he late? Was he in trouble?

He kept most of his queries to himself. Asking her would not be a healthy idea at the moment. She was not being herself and he was simply confused.

"You can continue calling me, Haruno, for the time being." She offered casually, holding his gaze until he gave a curt nod in understanding.

She did not blink and he found it only a tad disturbing. "Me, calling you by your last name shouldn't have been a problem to you as well. I thought you preferred to keep everything between us as less friendly as possible. I am only being considerate of your misplaced demands and playing my part as the good hostess and keeping my guest entertained."

His brows furrowed at her lack of craftiness in phrasing her every word. She was giving him a lot of leeway; way too many places to dig holes in her narrative, almost begging him to furnish a scathing counter to her statement.

'Did all your guests, gets to see you bath naked?' Was in the fore front of his mind, but instead he showed care in confronting her, by not asking such a bold question without proper provocation. Her insults didn't register much; he heard worse for her younger sister on a daily basis.

"I think-" He was thinking and coming up blank; a stupid Haruno was an unimaginable thought. But then again, did she want him to insult her?

"Don't think," Haruno replied coolly, "Just do." She raised both her arms, grabbed a bunch of bubbles floating away from her and brought them closer to her slick, wet body.

"People waste a lot of time thinking and plotting and scheming; looking at the bigger picture, planning for the long run. They get lost even before the half way mark. Some get abandoned, those out of favours, get punished for their failures and many simply vanish from our memories. It happens to everyone. It will happen to everyone. Still, we try to go out of our way to be miserable." After she was satisfied with her seemingly useless action, she placed one of her hands gently on the outer edge of her tub and slid a little lower, submerging herself further into this small piece of bubbly paradise.

"We forget about the simple pleasures in life." She took her hand away from the edge of the tub. "A bath for instance." A few bubbles were crushed on the way back.

She wanted him to hold her hand; he didn't - another misunderstanding.

He shook his head, "I cannot do that Haruno-san." he told her.

A small regret flashed in his eyes. "I always think; call it my curse, my monster or whatever. I leave many things unsaid and suffer silently. I say to myself it wasn't meant to be and find it easy to just walk away."

He lowered his head, refusing to meet her eyes, "Your sister once said, I don't change because it requires effort and hardship that I am unwilling to undertake." He curled his fingers into a tight fist and squeezed until he felt the nails digging into his skin. "After the Kyoto trip, she changed her mind and said I simply cannot change. This time around she gave me no explanation, no reason. Just said it like a centuries old saying-'You cannot change, Hikigaya-kun'."

A dry chuckle came out from his constricted throat. He coughed painfully and raised his head. She looked at his eyes anew; clear, concise, crisp. Perhaps, she was the only one who saw him like this. "Your sister was wrong on both counts, Haruno." No honorific, she was pleased. "It's not that I don't change; I have been through enough hardship growing up and I don't shy away from giving my all- effort and everything-when it's needed and the thing I am doing feels right."

He took a breath and uncurled his finger from making a useless fist. "And simply saying I cannot change is just idiotic. I didn't expect that from her of all people and it just shows how little I know about her."

Taking two small steps to his immediate left, he found himself standing at the foot of the bath tub. "I know even less about you, Haruno-san." It was the least precarious position for holding a meaningful conversation with a completely naked girl which didn't digress down the slippery slope of her toned thighs. "Even then, I know you wouldn't have said anything like that."

He chose very unwisely; less bubbles on this end. Her long, slender legs were visible now. He should move away. "I sometime think you are crazy." He didn't move an inch from his position. "But I know for sure that you are not stupid."

Haruno raised one of her legs from the lukewarm water. A series of bubbles burst together in tandem. Dripping droplets, shimmering soaps suds, gave away to a fresh mile of smooth skin; legs for days is an understatement.

She saw him staring at her foot; his control crumbling. "Always knew you were a leg man." She was scrunching up all her toes in a hypnotic manner, especially her big toe, which she wiggled in a come-hither gesture, moving backward and forward in an alluring manner. "Love my legs, don't you?" He seemed to watch her from afar, dead fish eyes half-lidded; only desire.

Finally. After all this time, finally, Haruno was able to get a fix on his emotion. Earlier, she had to deal in a series of threes. Now, there was only one.

In the end, he was not hard to understand. She only had to get naked and take a bubble bath to make him come undone and do something completely stupid. Love was for children; lust is a much vicious motivator. In the end, like always, her mother was really right.

'He's just another Hayama.' Haruno thought ruefully, 'Hikigaya Hachiman is Hayama Hayato 2.0.'

She sunk lower into the tub; her head was the only thing remaining afloat on the surface now. Bubbles were everywhere- bursting, never lasting, a passing fancy, a white lie, a drop of water. Pointless. Meaningless. Another nail in the coffin. Another spoilt bubble bath.

"I want a foot rub." Haruno said aloud. Her voice was hard and commanding, eyes dark and cold. She wanted him to literally kneel onto his knees and just show her, how low he could stoop for the promise of a night that he would never get to spend with her. "There are several bottles of massage oils in that upper cabinet." In essence, she wanted him to show her, how wrong she was in thinking he was any different than the others. He could simply use his perverted imaginations and take things from there; didn't even need to say the words out loud- seemed like he understood everything now.

Hachiman looked at her foot in solemn silence.

The moment of truth; he bent his body forward, lowering his dominant arm and gently cupped the succulent, moist arch of her right foot. Haruno wiggled her toes again, mocking him. She should have seen his eyes then instead; her second mistake of the day.

"Another time, Yukinoshita-san." Hachiman said coolly. "I just came in to say good bye." The dim lights of the bathroom cast a small patch of shadow on his face, making his features invisible at the moment. Haruno felt the skin of her soles tingle in frustration. No! No! No! He wouldn't dare; he did.

With a small gentle nudge, Hachiman pushed her foot away and it dropped almost limply into the bathwater, creating a small, ominous splash of damnation.

The scented candles crackled noiselessly nearby; flames danced, wax melted and wicks burned.

The bubble they were living in just popped.

"What-" Haruno growled. "-are you doing!" She was livid. "What. The. Hell. Hachiman." Anger rang loudly in her voice. "You-"

"Yes. Me." Hachiman looked at her in defiance. "You know the funny thing Yukinoshita-san," he was mocking her now. "I would have given you a great foot massage." Enjoyment was slipping into his voice, "Ebina. Shizuka-sensei. Komachi. Saki." Each name was spoken succinctly; three of them were addressed by their first names and one of them was his homeroom teacher.

"They all enjoyed themselves." Holding up his right hand, palm outwards, stretching and curling all five fingers, he made his point crystal clear. "And I did too." A cruel smile rested on his lips, "But you, Yukinoshita-san are not like them. You are different." He folded his arms across his chest. "Do you know why?"

Haruno was silent. She didn't say a word. The bubbles drifted lazily in the surface, untouched.

"Answer me or I leave."

An ultimatum was given.

"…Leave"

A warning was levied in exchange.

"So, we can repeat this charade all over again." Hachiman snorted, "Not gonna happen. You were saying earlier how we should stop thinking so much and just do something instead, right? Well, I think, now's the time to take your own advice."

Resignation rang aloud in silence, "Say it, Haruno."

"…I don't trust you."

The truth hung over them like a fresh corpse.

Hikigaya Hachiman took a few steps back and leaned against the tiles. Yukinoshita Haruno pulled her knees together and brought them closer to her chest, holding them tightly between her folded arms.

A few droplets of water, cascading down from her raven tresses, could be heard in the permeating silence, as it created several new rings on the water surface of her momentarily forgotten bubble bath.

"I finally know where Yukino-chan went wrong." An eerie, tragic voice resonated from inside her vocal chords.

Haruno closed her eyes and recounted their misery. "She said you don't change; that's surely false. You change every time I see you. You just don't let anyone see the change and make yourself forget the changes that have taken place, like a reset button." She shook her head, flinging water droplets everywhere, "No that's wrong. Life doesn't have a reset button and despite your many attempts to seclude yourself from society, you clearly have a life outside of your immediate surroundings."

She narrowed her eyes. "The service club is a prime example. You have Yukino-chan, Gahama-chan and many more people around you. Like I said, despite everything you are not alone even though you are a loner."

A soft sprinkle of water was heard from the tap she opened. "No reset for you" She smiled a fake smile, "A snooze button perhaps; that seems more to your liking." She rubbed her hands in the streaming water from the tap, "Basically, you pretend not to change and think you are fooling yourself, when in reality you are just fooling everyone else. You know what happened. You even accept it. You just don't think it's helpful for being who you are."

She gathered the water from the tap in both her cupped palms. "In conclusion, you keep lying to yourself" Raising her cupped palms, containing the fresh water from the tap, she slightly bent her neck downwards and splashed her face.

Water was the only thing covering her entire face now; a clean, transparent mask made of water. "It's not that you don't change and it not really that you can't change. The former is a proof of only the belligerence of the accuser and the latter is an insult to the person she is accusing. It's not a matter of whether Hikigaya Hachiman, can or cannot change. Neither is it about whether he does or does not change." The water flowed freely down her beautiful face and it seemed like for the first time, she was truly showing him, her true self; washing away everything and anything which had something to do with the last name- Yukinoshita.

"It only comes down to whether he will or will not change." The water was cathartic; the effect was spiritual and meant to be enlightening. Speaking to him in third person was also significant in essence.

Omitting his name, even the 'I' said everything.

"…will not." Hachiman told her regretfully, missing the almost spiteful word 'change' on purpose.

Haruno allowed all the droplets to rescind from her face; any moment now, any moment, another mask would set upon her visage and she would return to being just a 'Yukinoshita'.

She wanted to be anything but her. Beg. Please.

"I want to change, Hachiman." Haruno plead in a fervent voice. "I am tired of being a new Yukinoshita Haruno, every other day of the week, for every other third person I meet in my fifth dimensional life." The water stirred around her. "I want to be just another ordinary girl, leading just another normal life." Bubbles moved away, dispirited. "I feel like I am drowning, but I never reach the bottom of the ocean." She felt herself shaking from head to toe. "I don't know how I begin and when I end. My mother's image, my father's vision, my sister's nemesis; I feel like a collection of reflections in a kaleidoscope." The bath water felt cold; it was not though. "I feel…I don't feel anything sometimes; more than sometimes. And I hate it. I hate it! And I hate myself!"

Haruno was damaged. "Help me." A broken shell of a lost woman. "Help me, please." The girl deprived of a normal childhood, made to wear a mask and participate in a masquerade throughout her life, forced into crafting multiple personalities and made to wear them like costumes on every gathering and gala and party, with everyone and anyone, constantly asked into wearing and taking them off, day in, day out, night in, night out, did many things in her multifaceted life.

But she never cried.

Right now, she felt a stinging irritation, in her eyelids.

…And then she felt a warm, soothing hand gently patting the top of her soaking head, brushing over her wet scalp and moving away soggy, stray strands behind her right earlobe. A finger, accidently, brushed against the spot behind her ear and she felt a tingle of light in her dim surrounding.

"…Hachiman."

More of a question than anything else.

"What do you need, Haruno?"

Not even a question, despite appearance.

"I need you."

Beneath bubbles, one brew, one bloomed.

/

A/N:

Okay, first off, sorry for the delay but it was a pretty big chapter. (3200+ words) Also, this was not the chapter I was hoping to write, but I ran into a very good argument. More than a few people said that Hachiman, heading inside the bathroom would be too OOC and I can't help but agree with them. Normally, he would leave. So, despite the votes, I wrote this chapter. It's a best of both options, I think…No I don't.

But now, for the next chapter, I want to stop tiptoeing over the issue. A majority of the reviewers think that Hachiman should just man up and I agree with them too. Now the only question is about the OOC-ness of the characters. So without further ado:

Here are the options for the next chapter:

Option one: Haruno act out of character. (Sexual teasing.)

Option two: Hachiman acts out of character. (Only a hint of lime.)

Please, pick one.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams.

/

P.S- Got a new cover for the story.


	50. Chapter 50 Penultimate play

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 50: Penultimate play

She wore glasses.

He didn't understood the significance of it until he stepped out from the bathroom for a moment, at her request, allowed her a moment of solitude to gather her own thoughts and then stepped back into the bathroom-after almost ten minutes of awkwardly standing around; doing nothing, thinking nothing- only when she asked him to come back in.

Like he said, a pair of glasses framed her beautiful face, sitting poignantly on her nose. Her dominant hand was holding a book upright and judging by the size and thickness of the volume, this was only meant for a little light reading.

He imagined Haruno reading far thicker books at her leisure, perhaps before going to sleep late in the night.

A small flute of red wine, from the same bottle he had with her earlier, at the living room, was being held by its glass stem and brought to her moist, red lips.

Haruno took a small sip; he watched the movement of her throat, tracing the pathway of the warm beverage trickling down her gullet and when she breathed a small sigh after one audible gulp, Hachiman felt a warmth sensation settling deep within his belly.

One, single droplet of the red liquid, lay perched on her lower lip. Her tongue darted out slowly from within her mouth and he watched her swipe away that drop of wine back into her mouth, in a sweet, lingering manner.

Hachiman watched her lick her lips in afterthought; the kiss was not a distant memory. It was true that Haruno initiated the kiss, but what was also true is that he was moments from kissing her in the first place. Either way, they would have kissed. Whether it was him or her, didn't matter to him anymore.

"Thank you for waiting outside, Hachiman" Haruno said. "As you can see, I needed to gather a few things to collect my thoughts." Her eyes did not meet his. "I usually read while taking a bubble bath. I find it quite relaxing after a long day of…being myself." She was looking at the book and he wondered whether she was really reading the contents of the page. "A small bit of wine also helps me wind down a little after a…interesting day." She turned her head sideways, still refusing to look at him. "I…don't know why I am saying these things to you."

Hachiman kept looking at her. "You think you owe me an explanation, Haruno-san" He said slowly. "But let me tell you, you don't have to say anything to me if you don't want to. I will listen to whatever you have to say without being judgmental and I will forget them easily if you think I am incapable of keeping your trust. You said you need my help and I am willing to help you." He took a small step towards her. "Just tell me how."

Haruno flipped a page of her book using her finger. Nothing was said, nothing was done for an entire minute. "Are you treating this like one your service club requests?" her voice wavered, shaking with barely suppressed annoyance. A hint of rage escaped. "Do you really think I am that pathetic?"

"No." Hachiman said swiftly. "I only think you are right in asking me for help."

"Oh really?" Haruno said rhetorically. "'I am right in asking you for help', you say." A sharp glint was cast upon her eyes. "You have developed quite a high opinion of yourself haven't you and look! It took you only a couple of minutes to change your tone." Haruno smirked maliciously. "Are you proud of yourself, Hachiman?" A hint of bitterness laced her voice. "Making me ask, almost making me beg and now forcing me to depend on you." A look of pure self loathing marred her features. "You are turning me into Yukino-chan, Hachiman."

"No you are not Haruno." A personal touch was needed; he provided. "You are the same person you always were." Distances mattered; he inched closer. "Maybe I never got to see her. Perhaps you never intended to show me." A dry chuckle was not required; he almost didn't. "Then again, I don't know; sometimes, I just overlook stuff. No! No! No, I don't." Self inspection was a sad joke. "No, I just refuse to see them." Self loathing was lovely, "Maybe you showed yourself to me, your true self I mean." Blame was a fickle mistress. "And I just wasn't looking."

Ever since he returned, Haruno hadn't looked at him once. "It's not your fault, Hachiman." Her eyes finally fell upon him, "I never showed you anything, except for a glimpse here and there, when I was feeling especially reckless." She sunk lower; water and bubbles taking her in, providing a safe haven, "At least that's what I tell myself."

"We seem to tell our own selves a lot of things, don't we?" Hachiman mumbled remorsefully, "But we never seem able to tell others." A poignant moment was shared between them. "A third party always remain elusive."

Haruno chuckled at his sophistry, "I don't know. You and Yukino-chan always have Gahama-san hanging around, always tagging along like a lovey-dovey puppy." A small splash rang aloud from the bathtub; annoyance was clear. "You two seem unable to make most of the arrangement. In fact, I think it only makes it more miserable; an unwanted third wheel, if you will."

"It's only miserable when we make it." Hachiman felt the need to defend, "Yuigahama is a valuable member of our club. She contributes in her own way; gathering information from other students, keeping tabs on everything that's happening around us when we think it's not worthy of our attention, getting other people to help us out in a time of need and most importantly, always trying to keep the atmosphere in the club from turning hostile." This level of certainty was assuring to him and extremely annoying to her. "Without Yuigahama, I would end up saying something horribly offensive to Yukinoshita and then, she would righteously kill me with one of her special martial arts moves. Seriously, the looks I get sometimes! That aura of killer intent! Let me tell you, I'm surprised I made it so far without even getting hit once." A little bit of humour should have made things easy; he was wrong.

Haruno was shaking; Hachiman looked worried.

"…Haruno-san?"

"Never say that name in my bathroom." Her voice was dark and deep. "That name is forbidden! It shall not be spoken when I am either in my bathroom or in my bedroom. Remember that! Always remember that, Hikigaya Hachiman."

He messed up somewhere; he shouldn't ask. "What name, Haruno-san?" Sometimes, he never listened to his brain. This was one of those times.

Haruno was unnervingly quite, "…Yukinoshita." A barely audible whisper came out from her mouth, meant only for his ears. She said nothing else; no other explanation whatsoever.

Hachiman was a little troubled. "You mean your sister?" he asked tentatively.

"No." Haruno was seething. "I mean 'Yukinoshita', the 'Yukinoshita!'" Water splashed everywhere, bubbles bursting in droves. "My family name." The bathtub overflowed, water dripping outside. "I don't want to hear any mention of it while I'm in my bathroom!" Pure hate was the only thing Hachiman saw in her eyes, "Say, you will remember it, Hikigaya Hachiman. Say. It." Every word was emphasised by gnashing of teeth.

"I-I will remember not to call you by your family name while I'm in your bathroom or in your bedroom." Realising his mistake of making incorrect assumptions, he tried to backtrack, "Not that, I mean-"

"-Save it." Haruno cut him off, rudely. "I know what you mean. You don't want to assume anything and it is perfectly fine. I don't want to assume anything as well. I-" Haruno faltered. "I just don't want to hear that name everywhere. I hear it way too much when I am outside, facing the big, bad world and meeting fake, phony people." Haruno took a deep breath. "Even at home, I have to pretend sometimes- Taking calls, sending e-mails, handling files for my father, helping my mother to evaluate suitable suitors for my sister and myself, finding what my sister is doing and then inform my parents to stop them from interfering in our lives; I just wanted to take a break! A break from everything for a small amount of time." Haruno was visibly distressed, "I mean you can't imagine what I have to go through every single day of my life! I have to fulfil my duties to my family, I have to attend my classes in college and excel in my studies, I have to hang out with my friends and their friends; basically I have to always be involved in something, doing something, planning something! God! I hate it. I hate every second of it. And I still have to do it because I am a freaking 'Yukinoshita'!" She spat out venomously, "Perfection personified; the good daughter, the worrying elder sister, the ideal student, the best friend of everyone!" Calming her down was proving to be difficult. He didn't know what to do, except for listening her out. "I hate being a 'Yukinoshita' and I don't like to be called one when I am taking a break from my bothersome life. Do you understand now, Hachiman?"

Actually he didn't, but he couldn't really put it that bluntly when she was so worked up. "I do understand what you are saying. Um, but you see, there is one thing that keeps troubling me." Haruno was also well professed in martial arts and if it was like everything else, she was probably better at it then her younger sister. "Um, I think I already called you by your family name a couple of times already." Suddenly, that bottle of red wine was looking like a deadly weapon. "I was wondering whether I should apologize for my past transgressions. You didn't react as-" Wrong thing to say! Definitely wrong. Look at her eyes. "I mean, you didn't-"

"-Actually I did, Hachiman." On first name basis again. Good. Very good, "If you remember correctly, on both occasions when you called me by my family name in this bathroom, I reacted…similarly to how I am reacting now." A look of awkwardness crossed between them. "On one time, I actually yelled. I think. 'What. The. Hell' were my exact words or some reiteration of it and then the other time, I ordered you to leave, which you refused." A small smile graced her lips; smiles are always better, "On one occasion you were mocking me and on the other you were giving me an ultimatum." Her smile broadened, "I think, I don't have to tell you, how stupid you were."

"…I was testing my courage." He said, stoically.

"And how did you fair, Hachiman?" She asked, curious.

"I'm still here, aren't I?"

A snippy retort at best.

"…"

A moment of silence, observed.

'Was it better or worse?' Both these characters' thoughts, unfurled.

/

A/N: Busy working on "Labcoats" and "Clichés"! They will be updated next!

Okay, so, Haruno is behaving a little out of character and 8man doesn't know how to deal with it. The next chapter is gonna be less talk and more…well, you know; the thing I am teasing but not writing because I want it to be perfect. It will happen soon though, don't worry. As always:

Here are the options for the next chapter:

Option one: Haruno tries to reason with Hachiman. (Feelings, love, sex etc.)

Option two: Hachiman acts dumb (Pays for being stupid.)

Please, pick one

Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams.


	51. Chapter 51 Dreaming eternally

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 51: Dreaming eternally

She went under.

Hachiman stood motionless; unable to blink, holding his breath, feeling a fresh wave of helplessness wash over him like an over-acidic bout of nausea. Her spectacles, her book, her empty flute of wine kept him company from on top of a nearby side stand. She had carefully put her things in order before taking the deep plunge.

A fresh series of water bubbles was breaking the surface of water, emerging from the depths of the bath tub and bursting forth in quick succession. Unlike their artificial counterpart, the pink hued bubbles, which were made from an industrial grade chemical solution, this new formation of bubbles were ominously different- they were air bubbles.

"Haruno-san." He croaked, "You should come out now."

No reply; dread was all he felt.

After their last conversation, Haruno had observed a few minutes of silence and then, quite calmly, she had requested him to not interfere with her daily, ritualistic practice of completely submerging her whole body into the bathwater. 'The bubbles were no trouble', she said, 'won't sting her eyes', she said, 'he should stop worrying', she said; she said a lot of things.

"You should come up now." He said meekly, "It's getting late."

A wink was the only farewell he received and then Haruno went under the surface of water, hidden from his view, from a sheet of pink, fluffy bubbles. He watched her lower herself gradually; the valley of her breast disappearing from his view, her legs, dangling on the edge of the tub, slithering back to the bottom of the tub.

"Haruno-san, are you listening to me?"

Her arms, her shoulders, her collar bone, her ears, her closed eyes, her closed mouth, her entire face; everything was sinking into the pits of water and bubbles. Her raven locks floated for a single second, saying a small farewell of their own and then they vanished as well.

The air bubbles were vindictive. He didn't know whether they were coming out of her nose or from her mouth. Could people drown themselves in a tub if they were suicidal? He didn't want to find out.

"That's it!" Hachiman had enough, "I am getting you out."

He moved quickly, sure sudden steps ringing loudly on the wet floor of the bathroom, his heaving breathing setting the tone of their next confrontation. Hachiman did not think about the ramifications of his actions, how taking her out would mean to actually touch her naked skin. For now, the only thought running through his brain was to stop her from killing herself.

His help wasn't required; he missed his chance. Like always he was far too late.

"Haan, Haan, Haan."

The smooth skin of her right knee, her dominant leg, slowly parted the surface of water. He could almost catch a small glimpse of a fresh pair of moist, glistening thighs, peeking from beneath the bubbles and then, remaining in the water to preserve her sense of modesty. The curve of her calves played a cameo, came so close to calling him a pervert for looking and then dipped back again, forming a slope, for a string of stray bubbles to reunite with their froth filled companions; watching the bubbles slowly slide down her luscious legs, took a toll on his self control.

"Hnng, Hnng."

Deep, dark breaths emanated from far away; he dragged his rotten pair of dead fish eyes upwards, refusing to allow them another single minute to write rubbish poetry over the striking beauty of her legs. His gaze slithered over the water surface, moving upwards to the source of the sound. Haruno kept drawing heavy breathes from her mouth; not a good sign.

Hachiman should have already guessed; Haruno was having trouble getting up. Her lungs were burning, she had swallowed a little too much of the water, which left an awful taste in her mouth and stung her eyes.

"Haan.. Hanch..."

Haruno was trying and failing miserably to call him for help. Her throat was constricted and she was having trouble breathing. Good thing, Hachiman wasn't a complete idiot. He made the simple presumption based on elementary logic, taken from a kid's drawing- if the legs are up in water, then the torso should be down and she should be drowning.

Hachiman was quick; he bent over, almost resting on his knees and then put both his arms inside the water, looping them firmly underneath both her armpits and then stood up, dragging the drenched body of Haruno with him.

A soft, supple impression was felt against his shirt sleeves; he ignored it vehemently. Now was not the time to wonder about them. He needed to make sure she was out of water and breathing like a normal person. A small tide of relief washed him over, when he saw her nose coming up and making contact with the foam-covered surface of water, from where their only had been, a steady line of fat, chubby air bubbles coming forth a moment ago.

"Uuaw"

The sight of her moist, red lips, begging for air was dreadful to look at, for his rotten dead fish eyes. The sound coming out from her parting lips- the ones he tasted, the ones he kissed -was now only drawing a number of sharp gasps, almost begging to someone far powerful, to forgive her recent transgressions and allow her to keep her life.

"Haanchiinmaan?"

The butchering of his names and her nasal tone of voice was painful for his sensitive ears, but they were to be expected, from anyone, who had recently tried to drown themselves in their bathtub.

Haruno was keeping both her eyes closed for the moment. They were tightly shut from the stinging sensation of the soap suds and artificial bubbles. Hachiman wanted to see the signs of life, reflected back from her stunning eyes but he did not complain in the least.

Out of necessity- at least, that's what he told himself- he cradled her beautiful face from behind, managing to cup her damp, dripping chin, using only one of his palms. His other arm, gently wrapped itself around her slender neck, resting across her shoulders and bare collar bone. He made the argument to himself that he was only providing her balance and supporting her weight after a terrible ordeal.

She felt light; not lifeless. The small open mouthed kiss, he pressed to the back of her head, disregarding the sopping state of her dishevelled hair, was only meant to comfort her; not reassure him.

"I got you, Haruno. I got you." He mumbled softly against her raven tresses, choosing once again, to ignore the wetness he felt against his mouth. "You are safe now." The bubbles looked good, but they tasted absolutely horrible. Good thing, they were not meant to swallow. "You are safe." Now if only, someone told that to Haruno, his life would have been so much better.

"I-" Haruno was having difficulty breathing, not a moment ago. So of course, she would also have trouble forming words and saying them clearly. "I-am-" Her voice was hoarse and raw, gulping a mouthful of air every now and then, panting in exhaustion for each and every negligible effort. "I am sorry, Hachiman."

He buried his face further into her soppy mop of hair. "You should be, Haruno." Every word was uttered while keeping his anger at bay. He should not yell, should not scream; he had no right. Likewise, she had no right to take her life in front of him. In fact, she had no right, even thinking about killing herself. Period. "You scared me half to death."

A shaky chortle at his morbid humour was a godsend. "P-Phunny." Puns always are, he thought, giving a small smile. Hearing Haruno make a joke, trying to tease him as usual was almost normal. Hachiman was striving for normalcy right about now.

The trembling hand, wiping away the soap suds from her eyes and face, disguised her attempt to remove one stray, stinging droplet of water from her cheek; not a tear, she told herself.

"I have to ask Haruno." He was kneeling behind her on the wet floor of the bathroom, his arms wrapped firmly around her neck, palms resting on her bare shoulder, thumbs rubbing comforting circles on her wet skin. "What were you thinking?"

Haruno drew every strand of warmth from his touch, her head lolled backwards, giving him another excuse to hold her tighter; she didn't mind one bit. "I wanted to know whether or not this was a dream. Me, inviting you to my apartment and you, coming in. Me, kissing you and you, kissing me back. Me, allowing you into my bath, my private sanctum, where I take a break, where I am only Haruno and not HER; and you followed me. It's like a beautiful, wonderful, dream, where only good things keep happening to me and I love every bit of it." She put her hand on his arm. "But a dream is just that; a dream. And despite how good it is, how good it can be, there is one thing it can never be- Real." The pressure on his arm increased. She was holding onto him like her life depended on it. "I wanted this to be real, so very real and that's why I had to check. I had to prove to myself that everything that has been happening to me is really happening to me. I wanted evidence of my existence. I wanted to feel alive!" Her nails dug into his skin. "So, I had to die. One can truly know they are alive when they are about to die. The sheer fear alone helps you know and then there is the need to call the name of someone you care for, for the last time. I knew I was dying, I knew I was drowning and so I knew I was alive and that this was not a dream."

Hachiman held her closer, inhaling her fresh scent. "That's crazy, Haruno. I could have already told you that this was not a dream. You didn't have to drown yourself to know that." His voice sounded like a mumble against her hair and the small brush of lips on her nape was barely more than a tickle.

"You may think so, Hachiman. But now I know for certain that it wasn't a dream."

Haruno took a deep sigh in relief, her hand going upwards and wrapping around his neck and bringing him down to her eye level.

"How do you know?" he asked softly, rendered helpless by her touch.

"Because in my dreams I drown and no one comes to save me."

Her action of dragging him down was having a different affect on the water level. Hachiman kept his eyes open, not even daring to blink. The water shifted; Haruno turned, his body moved in accordance.

"That sounds more like a nightmare, Haruno."

"Are there any other kinds of dream, Hachiman?"

A pair of rotten dead fish eyes dared; a big, bulbous bubble, had latched onto the soft, pink surface of her left nipple. Whenever she spoke, whenever she took a breath, using her mouth, her breasts heaved and through prolonged movements, the big, bad bubble had caught a hold of her breast; he wanted to poke it out.

"There are; I am daring to see on myself."

"And what's it about."

"…You."

Last time, there was a level of uncertainty in both their action. Both of them could only make an assumption on who took the initiative. Not a moment ago, Haruno professed it was her. But this time around there was not mistake.

Hachiman kissed Haruno.

/

A/N: Yeah, so um, that happened. Things are way too high strung now. Anything can happen. So the question is:

To be

Or

Not to be.

(And Shakespeare curses my name and rolls in his grave.)

Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams.


	52. Chapter 52 Collapsing Identities

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 52: Collapsing Identities.

Last time, there was a level of uncertainty in both their action. Both of them could only make an assumption on who took the initiative. Not a moment ago, Haruno professed it was her. But this time around there was not mistake. Hachiman kissed Haruno. But before his senses could register anything, his vision went completely blank. 'What the hell!' He shouted loudly, but he couldn't even hear his own voice. "What is happening, what is happening, what the hell is happening!" And then… Poof!

/

 _Universe 0.26- Hangman Hachiman_

 _Hikigaya Hachiman was about to hang Hikigaya Hachiman._

 _He saw his younger self, dark hair, dead fish eyes, a face devoid of lines and wrinkles and an ever-growing, creepy smile on his lips. He appeared to be around his early twenties, and despite these tragic circumstances and these lengthening shadows, splaying across the courtyard of an abandoned prison, there seems to be an unmistakable sense of dark humour, mingling in this pungent air, thick with guilt and shame._

 _Hikigaya Hachiman, his older version looks at his younger self and raises an eyebrow, trying in vain to coax him to explain this situation._

 _His younger self gives a dry chuckle, "You need to know my age, height and weight."_

 _His older self looks puzzled. These are questions he asks before he hangs a condemned criminal. For a moment, he acknowledges this dream as indeed, a great creation of his sick and troubled mind. He knows he is dreaming, but he is unable to wake up. There is nothing left for him to do but carry on._

 _Without asking any further questions he is given a reply. "Age 20, Height 195cm, Weight 70kg." He turns around and sees his younger self, holding onto a long piece of rope, "You will need this."_

" _I know." Hikigaya Hachiman takes this piece of rope and with practiced ease his hands begin a serious of movements._

 _His younger self drones in the background and provides unneeded narration. "Make an S-shape with your rope. Carry the bottom part over the length of rope. Begin looping the length you carried, around itself and after making five or so loops, pull the remaining length of rope through the circle, near the top. Then pull the loop tight by tugging on the noose and holding the knot. After pulled taut, the noose should be able to be adjusted."_

 _Hikigaya Hachiman saw his younger self through this circular noose._

 _He was not smiling but his younger self was clearly in a different mood. He was happy and cheerful and completely ignoring his older counterpart whose face was showing signs of anxiety and tension._

 _His younger self took the noose and placed it over his neck. He checked the knot and gave him a smart salute. "Well done. How many times have you tied this knot?" "Twelve times." "And how many persons have you killed?" "…None."_

 _His younger self gave him a cheeky grin. "And people say you have no sense of humour. Keep it up old man. Today will be your thirteenth."_

 _Hikigaya Hachiman opened his eyes and looked at his surroundings._

 _He was staying in a room, provided to him by the prison authorities, when he arrived here yesterday and surprisingly enough, he had fallen asleep on a wooden desk, after having trouble sleeping, due to a recurring dream._

 _He sighed to himself._

 _He was getting old and tired of this and after one more month, he would finally be able to quit from this job. But at present, he had far more important matters to attend, than ponder over his future plans._

 _With a heavy heart, he glanced at a clock. Three hours later he would be asked to perform his duties and three hours and fifteen minutes later the world will be reduced by one infamous serial killer._

 _Hikigaya Hachiman began taking preparations._

 _He was the only one capable of pulling the lever._

 _/_

 _Universe 0.94- Mad Love_

 _Yukinoshita Yukino had her canvas on an easel and she made sure her setup was comfortable and organised, because there was nothing more infuriating, than disrupting her creative flow, by forgetting and afterwards hunting down, a particular shade of paint, which she had not taken into account, before commencing her work, on her unfinished painting._

 _Hence her brushes, her paints and palettes were all nearby and waiting for her to approach with an artistic flourish of her wrists and an inspired touch of her dainty little fingers. She took her position and stood before her unfinished painting and gently dabbed her brush on a darker shade to add to her tonal background._

" _You have quite an imagination, Yukinoshita."_

 _Hikigaya Hachiman had made his presence aware a moment before and though, Yukinoshita Yukino had expressed her dislike, at having him intrude into her private sanctuary, many times before, there are certain compromises, which life had taught her to make and sadly, he was one of them. She looked up, with a thinly veiled disdain, marring her beautiful eyes and spoke with cultured grace, far more deserving while dealing with such a lowly apparatus, of their ancestral family._

" _Your lack of appreciation about my art work is hardly surprising Hikigaya-kun."_

" _Not at all, Yukinoshita. There are many things worth appreciating in a picture depicting a girl burning alive."_

 _Hikigaya Hachiman allowed sarcasm to drip from his smooth monotone voice. He found her paintings far more repulsive for his tastes and though, he had observed many such dreadful situations unfold, before his own eyes, there was a certain levity, which always tended to associate with her paintings, which depicted tragic outcomes._

" _Why is this girl smiling?"_

" _Because she is on fire."_

 _Hikigaya Hachiman was capable of getting confused on many occasions, and though his intelligence was far above most individuals, unfortunate enough to work with him, they always found a way to shift their confusion, by branding him a lunatic._

 _However, he was unlucky enough, at not being able to avail this luxury, because this girl was already declared certifiably insane, by a respectable institution._

" _Have you come for our date?"_

" _Yes."_

 _Yukinoshita Yukino turned around. The image of the burning girl was vividly clear to him. It was a small teenage girl, around eighteen or nineteen years of age, with long dark hair and light blue eyes._

" _They say narcissism is always a self portrait, Hikigaya-kun."_

" _It's a good thing you can draw then, Yukinoshita."_

 _The bitter chuckle, leaving her dry, red lips, left a black pit of self loathing in his stomach. The look on his face was enough to tell anyone, how guilty he felt over everything that happened._

 _Yukinoshita thought otherwise and turned both their attention back to the fiery painting._

" _Well at least, here I am smiling and the fire isn't killing me. Isn't it a big relief for you Hikigaya-kun?"_

"… _We are getting late for our date." He replied gravely, ignoring her question, while bluntly changing the topic._

" _Indeed. Let's make a picnic out of it, shall we? A 'prison picnic', if you will. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"_

 _Her manic laughter was his punishment and he would carry out his sentence for an entire life time._

 _It was his fault._

 _He had driven, Yukinoshita Yukino insane._

 _/_

Universe 0.5- Eternally Dreaming.

Last time, there was a level of uncertainty in both their action. Both of them could only make an assumption on who took the initiative. Not a moment ago, Haruno professed it was her. But this time around there was not mistake.

Hachiman kissed Haruno. His hands were busy, his skin was hot, his lips were parted; everything was messy and sloppy, and wet and spit and something else; his body was in the bathtub, kissing Haruno but his mind was elsewhere.

'What the hell did I saw?' Hachiman thought to himself. A hint of fear and foreboding was self evident in both his body and mind.

/

A/N: Well, this chapter is a little 'weird', isn't it? And it was done on purpose. You see, I'm trying to make the harem scenario work, without making 8man a two-timing-bastard and a manwhore!

And so I came up with this idea. Multiple universes! Here, 8man can focus on all the girls, ALL THE GIRLS, ALL 11 OF THEM!

And there can be: A PLOT! A REAL, INTIGUING PLOT!

Well, I leave the deciding to you. I will finish the HARUNO ARC, THE SHIZUKA CARWASH ARC, THE PILLOW TALK ARC AND THEN WE CAN DO THE MULTI-UNIVERSE ARC, IF YOU GUYS ARE INTERESTED.

So, here are the options for the future of the story:

Option one: Go for the multiverse approach! (There will be no limits, whatsoever.)

Option two: Keep the story as it is now (Plot-less, only teasing, no-lemons, soon to be abandoned.)

Please, pick one.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams.


	53. Chapter 53 Loving Pain

Don't own Oregairu

Chapter 53: Loving Pain.

He was naked.

Not exactly true. He had a small towel wrapped around his waist, covering his privates and giving him a sense of modesty and another towel, drapped across his shoulder, from when he had nearly given up, on drying his soggy, mess of a hair. He was cold and wet and…missing memories.

He squashed the rising tension in his muscles, closed his rotten dead, fish eyes and tried to remember. Something. Anything. The last thing he remembered was the kiss, his lips on hers, it was soft and warm and… empty. The blank spot in his memory was more than a little troubling.

He couldn't remember what happened next. Only vague sensation crawled lazily into most of his sensitive senses- The softness of flesh, the warmth of lips, the touch of pleasure, the starkness of the truth, the heat of the moment, the trust in falling, the risk in drowning and…the kick in the groin.

He shook his head, clearing the nothingness from exercising their hold on his mind. Vague sensations, nothing else, nothing more; he didn't know why he was wearing only a towel, he couldn't remember where his clothes were, when he had taken them off, why he was completely drenched in water or where she was. So many questions and he couldn't answer any of them; the biggest being where was, Haruno.

He could feel, a small voice, saying, he had messed up. Haruno was messing with him, teasing him again, the sexual tension was thick in the air, she had said something, nothing he would have taken offense to earlier, but at the time he did, and then he had said something back, something he couldn't take back, something he didn't meant to say in the first place, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember.

The blank spot was a mystery. He had seen things, terrible things, but now, none of them seemed real. Even now, he couldn't wrap his head around the idea of him and her and-

"Hi-ki-ga-ya-kun." An almost ethereal voice floated into the air. It belonged to the woman in question. Yukinoshita Haruno had finally appeared. But there was a huge problem, which made Hachiman extremely afraid.

The voice. No, no, no. What the hell did he do? This was not the girl, who gave him his first glass of wine, this was not the girl, he saved, from drowning in her own bathtub and this was, certainly, not the girl he kissed. This voice did not belong to a girl named Haruno.

"Yukinoshita-san." Hachiman croaked. There was no need to stand in ceremony. He knew who he was talking to. And she knew that he knew. In a way, this should make things easier.

"Is it fear, I hear, Hikigaya-kun." Yukinoshita-san asked, mockingly.

He was freezing. Without clothes, wrapped only in a towel, in the dark, empty living room, sitting on the large sofa, Hachiman felt the shivers of dread, run up and down his spine, and droplets of cold sweat, forming on his forehead.

He was beyond terrified. He thought everything was going well with them, they had kissed and there might have been a bit of excessive touching. Grrr. Dammit! He couldn't remember. God! He must have done something… improper.

"I'm sorry, Yukinoshita-san. Please-" Hachiman didn't have the courage to complete the sentence from the look he was getting. Even in the darkness of the living room, it was very much clear.

The dead, dripping ire of her grim countenance, silenced him abruptly. The small number of golden flecks, falling over her beautiful eyes, dotting them in a series of round circles, made him aware of the loss of warmth. The way her fingers clasped his jaw and roughly, yanked him towards her entire face, made the point, further clear.

"-No you're not, but you will be. Soon enough." Haruno dug her nails into his jaw, breaking skin, drawing blood and making him wince in pain. The pleasure he saw in her eyes, from watching him, flinch in pain, was extremely terrifying.

Trying to evade, her unwavering gaze, he looked downwards.

Big mistake.

The blood red fabric of her satin, sweet baby doll outfit, made him draw a sharp breath of air from his nose and made his gasp, audibly, through his mouth. Her luscious looking garment seemed to have a mind of their own, moving vibrantly across her entire body and wrapping themselves, sinfully, in her each and every, curve and contour, while barely, reaching past her delicious hips.

The embroidery design, splayed on the hemline, completely see-through, crawled upwards like slithering serpents -offering the forbidden fruit, nestled deep between her glorious thighs; the fatal temptation for any man- at even the barest jostle of her gorgeous legs.

The naïve bow, sitting prettily, between the valley of her ample breasts, offered, more than generous view of her cleavage- made entirely of lace- not knowing, that it can be undone, by a simple flick of a few skilful fingers.

"I-Why are your-what are you-I-" Hachiman floundered.

The risqué looking outfit was a kind of nightwear. He thought, perhaps, it was comfortable enough to sleep in, at the privacy of her apartment. But there was no reason to wear it, while entertaining a guest. In hindsight, 'entertaining' was a poor choice of words.

"Like what you see?" Haruno asked, rhetorically. She didn't need an answer. His each and every expression, had said more than enough, of his state of mind.

Her outfit was almost driving him mad. But being who he was, Hachiman caught the, underlying message, in her question. Only he could do it, and she knew it, very well.

Obviously, Haruno was referring to the changes in her; her outfit, her body language, her eyes. The correct answer would be 'no'. Like he was already calling her, this was not 'Haruno'. This was a façade, a life model decoy, a pale imitation of the real woman, he came to know, over the past few hours. He would like to have the 'Haruno' he knew, rather than the 'Yukinoshita-san', he didn't.

'Comparing her to the devil now, are we Hachiman?' he rebuked himself, 'How wonderful.'

The cruel, curvature of her blood red lips, spelled his doom. Hachiman couldn't think, couldn't talk, couldn't function. His whole pathetic existence was reduced to a bubbling pile of garbage. Hachiman, closed his eyes, took a deep breath and willed himself to wake up from this nightmare.

An even bigger mistake.

Having both his eyes closed, Hachiman did not see her move. He should have. He really should have. He only heard the noiseless footfalls, the sharp, angry breathes and when he was about to give in to his curiosity, and open his eyes, he registered her unforgiving proximity and the burning closeness.

Her nails dug into his shoulder, purposely making him wince. Hachiman was momentarily distracted by the pain, and in that split second, he felt another weight, settling lithely, onto both his thighs. In another second, both his hands shot out, of their own accord and latched onto her slim waist.

Haruno was now straddling him.

And Hachiman held onto her hips.

Grey eyes met gold

"Does this meet your expectations, Hikigaya-kun?" Haruno asked, scathingly.

"I don't understand, Yukinoshita-san." Hachiman replied, confused

The golden glare he received in return almost managed to kill him. He watched her, beautiful face, form a repulsive scowl and her pretty lips, settle into an awful snarl. There was only one emotion evident in her eyes: Disgust.

"Playing games, are we?" Haruno asked, seething.

"No, I-didn't mean-" Hachiman was rudely cut off. She hadn't moved a finger, hadn't uttered a single syllable, but the pure, unadulterated hate in her eyes, sliced his lips, into silence.

"You never do." Haruno replied. The venom in her voice, said everything else.

"I-". Hachiman stopped abruptly.

He couldn't tell her what he saw. She wouldn't believe him. He didn't believe him, so how can she? Then there will be the accusations- she will call him a liar and he will call her a fake.

"Running out of words, already? Well don't bother. This onee-san, is done listening to you, anyways. I now have only one purpose: Hurting You." Her cruel words, managed to unsettle his nerves, unnerving him, like a dead breeze, blowing spirits at midnight, in an abandoned graveyard.

"Why? What did I do-" Again and again, Hachiman floundered for the correct set of words, to even form a meaningful sentence. Haruno managed to put, a grim pallor on his skin, by running her nails over his bare thighs. The towel wrapped around his waist seemed small and inadequate.

"-Haruno-" Hearing her name on his lips, triggered something in her.

He watched her eyes darken, the golden flecks shading her retinas, emblazoned, and then her sharp nails dug in and broke flesh, leaving fresh marks in its wake.

"Don't you dare! Don't you dare, Hikigaya Hachiman! After everything you said, you don't get to call me by my name. My real name! If you want to address me from now on, then you have to do it properly. You have to do it like everyone else does. From now, you only call me 'Yukinoshita-san.' Are we clear?" Haruno clasped his jaw, tightly and squeezed, almost managing to clatter his lower set of teeth. Hachiman swallowed a little bit of saliva, and only managed to give a small nod in confirmation

"I-Okay." He mumbled, shortly, against her assertive grip.

Truth be told, Hachiman was more than a little surprised, by the vindictive tone in her voice. He opened his mouth to say something, ask a question, perhaps, but he was only grasping for air, his mind, coming up blank. This was turning into a disaster.

Haruno laughed. The cruel, sadistic sound, bursting from inside her mouth was completely vile. She was shaking, her body trembling. He couldn't help but feel the vibrations, crawling over his skin. He felt sick. This shouldn't be happening. This shouldn't be how he felt. Dammit!

Hachiman was wearing a towel. Haruno was in her nightwear. Both of them were in an unfortunate state of undress, showing more skin to each other then, they have ever had before and yet, there was this palpable sense of animosity, thick in the air.

"'Okay', you say, hmm…" Haruno caressed his jaw line, her thumb grazing, and then pulling his lower lip. There was no smile on her lips now and he felt worried. Even a fake smile or in this case, a cruel smile, was better than a non-existent curve of her lips.

Haruno caught him staring and her gaze hardened. She curled her fingers, tightly over his dry lips, making them pucker up in submission. He needed to say something coherent, but words were hard to come by, at this moment of distress.

"No! I mean; I am feeling better-" Hachiman was again silenced, this time by her finger. It was tracing across his upper lip now, her nails scrapping over the thin, dry surface, then trailing lower, making a hazy circle, with a small spittle of saliva, which must have come out, when he had abruptly, closed his mouth. God! He was practically drooling!

"Are you? Are you really?" Haruno asked. Her fore finger, continued to moisten his lips, making good use of his own saliva and somewhere, in the back of his mind, he might have thought, this was a bit disgusting. But, he could think about this later. Currently, he had trouble breathing and the inability to answer, using long sentence.

"Y-Yes." Hachiman stammered. Haruno gave no visible response to his reply. Her face remained, unnaturally blank, of any affectionate emotions. There was only hate and disgust and a sense of betrayal. She was no longer trying to hide them and that, spoke volumes about his recent worries.

"Let's change that, shall we…" Haruno replied, gravel. She, slowly, withdrew her fore finger, from his, now moist lips. There was a thin line of saliva, connecting his lips to her fingers, incriminating them both, of their act. Haruno looked at her hand, in nothing else but disgust, and then spitefully, she wiped her hand on his naked torso. Her fingers grazed over his chest and the only thing he felt was cold.

"You hate change don't you, Hikigaya-kun?" Haruno hummed, melodically.

Hachiman looked at her mouth now, her lips peeking out, wetting her lips. The purring voice of hers, enticed him to unspeakable lengths, in a manner of speaking, and then he felt her heavy hips, setting ablaze his groin. His mind could not function anymore.

"I- don't- I-just-" Hachiman stammered, again.

"Having trouble talking, already?" Haruno asked, mockingly.

Hachiman had wished for her smile and he had got one now. But this was not the smile he needed. Not right now. The smile was sinister and devoid of any warmth. There was not a single sign of affection in her eyes. Hachiman felt wrong. This entire exchange of skin-ship felt horrible wrong!

"Don't worry." Haruno mumbled, invading his many thoughts, his betraying body, his mumbling mind, his very soul. The voice of hers shook his very foundation, unmade and remade him. He didn't dare, he couldn't even move.

The thin towel gave him no protection. The lace embroidery decorations, etched across, the alluringly short hemline, of her baby doll outfit, gave him no comfort. Heat. Scorching, smouldering heat, was all he felt. It came to settle deep within his belly. Blood left his brain and rushed into his groin.

"It gets worse." Haruno said, venomously. Her lips brushed against his left ear, when she threatened him with those words. Her beautiful face, adjacent to his paler features, both their cheeks, almost touching, and her every breath torturing him inside, left him high and dry.

Then she closed her mouth over his earlobe; her sharp teeth biting into his soft flesh, leaving a lasting mark, and drawing fresh blood.

"I- des-erve it." Hachiman acknowledged, stammering solemnly, working through the pain.

He was giving in to the darkness. The hand of Goddess, the dark messiah, the vengeful one, welcomed him in pain and suffering. He already knew her name. But he was not allowed to say it. It was only 'Yukinoshita-san' now.

"This is your only redeeming quality, Hikigaya kun." Haruno said those words into his bleeding ear. Her white, sharp teeth now showed an unsettling shade of red spittle. "You always know what you deserve."

She rocked her hips against his groin, making him swallow hard, and then subsequently, wince in pain. "You always accept it," Haruno mumbled accusingly, before her teeth latched onto his shoulder blade, making a sharp indentation, but not breaking skin. At least, not yet.

Haruno lifted her mouth from his recently bruised shoulder, giving him a blood red smile and mumbled, the last few words, at the base of his collar bone. Her teeth scraped across, bare skin and she smiled, ominously. Hachiman didn't see it but, he heard it in her voice.

"And I hate you for it." Haruno stated, bitterly. The note of finality, in her voice, was greeted by another fresh wave of pain.

However, Hachiman was not listening now. He closed his eyes, submerging himself completely to the pain and it was then when the blank spot in his memories, started to give shape and form life. He winced, he gasped, and finally he surrendered to the eternal torment. It was the only way. And now, through pain, he was given back everything, he lost.

"I remember!" Hachiman blurted out, into the darkness.

/

A/N: Well, um, not your, average, love making scene, now, is this? Um, I think, I should apologize a little. Sorry!

Anyway, as you can see in this chapter, Hachiman was having trouble with his memories. This was because of the glimpse at the MULTIVERSE! It messed with his mind, but at the end of the chapter he remembered! I will write about it in the next chapter.

However, because of the glimpse, the pace picked up. Believe me, those two would still be in the bathroom for another five or six chapter, otherwise and the action would drag.

Basically, the MULTIVERSE, shows only the planned chapters. Not the filler chapters.

In the beginning, "The Haruno Arc" was supposed to have only FOUR CHAPTERS: 1) Inviting him in, 2) taking her pants off and drinking, 3) heading to the bath and drowning, 4) pissing her off and paying the price. (This one, but with 8man's memories.) Then it was off to the next arc (Shizuka Arc)

Anyway, all that happened, now…except for the lemon!

YES, THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL HAVE THE LEMON (POSSIBLY LIME).

So here are the options for the next chapter:

OPTION ONE: CHANGE THE RATING TO **"M"** AND GIVE THE MUCH AWAITED, MUCH TEASED, HARUNO X HACHIMAN LEMON! (IT WILL SET OFF THE MULTIVERSE!)

OPTION TWO: KEEP IT "T" (NO LEMON, ONLY TEASING, AND OFF TO ANOTHER GIRL)

Please, pick one.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams.


	54. Chapter 54 Remembering

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 54: Remembering

He remembered; he remembered everything.

" _God! Haruno. You, you-"_

" _I know, right. Just the worst, aren't I, Hachiman?"_

"… _Was it okay?"_

" _Kiss me some more, and I will tell you."_

"… _Something tells me, we won't be talking a lot, at the moment."_

" _Well duh! We would be kissing, silly. Now come here. Let this beautiful onee-san, take care of your needs."_

"… _Needs?"_

" _Kissing is a need of the hour, don't you think so, Hachiman."_

" _Goddammit, woman!"_

" _No need to turn into a caveman, Hachiman. They don't get to French kiss. You can just call me 'sexy'."_

"… _I'm going to kiss you now. And I don't know when I will stop."_

" _Who said anything about stopping, Hachiman?"_

It was like watching an antique film projector, play old news reels, on a muddy curtain. The memories were clear and evident for perception, and there was no denying, it was him and his words and his actions, which led to her, hating him. Earlier, he didn't know why he hated her. But, now, he knew, and he felt, her hate was justified. Everything goes downhill after the first kiss, they say. Well, for once, they were right. Although in his case, it was technically the second kiss, which sealed his doom.

" _Ever practiced on a mirror?"_

" _What?"_

" _Kissing. Have you ever practiced on a mirror?"_

"… _That bad, huh?"_

" _No. I just heard, that, guys practice kissing on a mirror."_

" _Well, um, I, I, don't think so, no, No, um …How do girls practice?"_

" _Why, by kissing other girls of course."_

"… _Are you being serious right now?"_

" _Of course! Ask Shizuka-chan someday. She has stories to tell."_

Looking back, on the moments old memory, Hachiman felt like kicking himself. The atmosphere, the surrounding, the moment, it was all horribly contrived and unnatural. The emotions they felt was more of a knee jerk reaction. Watching Haruno, lounging in the bathtub, with only foam and bubbles to preserve her modesty, Hachiman, succumbed to the allure of her naked figure and gave in to the temptation of kissing her senseless. Haruno didn't protest and he was just a guy. The kiss grew heated, his hands became bolder and her moans became louder, but then, disaster struck.

" _You are being loud, Haruno."_

" _I thought guys like to make woman scream in ecstasy."_

" _They do."_

" _So? I don't see what the problem is? I'm just showing my enthusiasm. Is that bad?"_

" _I know when it's fake. It's a bit distracting."_

" _You do?"_

" _Sensitive ears, remember"_

"… _Sorry, Hachiman. I just wanted to encourage, Oh GOD!"_

" _See. Now that was all me."_

" _Getting cocky are, we, my dear, Hacha! Mmn~Oh~"_

" _You have that affect on people, Haruno."_

" _Thank you."_

" _Don't thank me for it. It's just the truth."_

" _I wasn't thanking you per se. It was more of a compliment. People like compliment, you know. But I guess you always prefer the truth more, don't you Hachiman."_

"… _Not always, Haruno."_

"… _You are a complicated guy, you know that right."_

" _Touché."_

Hachiman toppled over her.

" _Hachiman! What!"_

" _Sorry, Just give me-"_

" _Move!"_

" _I'm trying! Wait! Haruno!"_

Had they been on the sofa like earlier, or even better, if they had been in her bedroom, like Haruno planned for later, falling over her comfortable and lush, queen sized bed, things would have progressed much better. But alas, they were in her bathroom, fooling around near the bathtub and both their inexperience were glaringly obvious.

" _Move! Move!"_

" _Just let me- get up. My leg-"_

" _I can't breathe!"_

" _Haruno! Let me pull you-"_

Nothing was done on purpose, and there lied the problem.

" _What are you trying to do, Hachiman? Are you trying to kill me?"_

" _No, I just keep-Dammit! Slipped again! That's the second time."_

" _My arm! Move I can't!-"_

" _Haruno! Get up. Look I-"_

" _grbbbr"_

" _God, you are in the water again-"_

" _Uwwa! Get out of the tub, Hachiman!"_

" _Let me-"_

" _No! Don't touch me!"_

Simply put, Hachiman lost his balance. He was so busy kissing and touching, Haruno, that he became unaware of his surroundings. To be exact, he didn't care about where they were anymore. The only thing that mattered to him was Haruno, and the way she felt in his arms. As a result, when he slipped on the wet floor, he ended up losing his firm footing on the ground and ended up, unwittingly, falling over Haruno.

Now, Haruno was a little taken aback, by his sudden movement and the weight of his body, trying to lie on top of her. She mistook it for want and desire and tried to accommodate him better. But then, when he fell over, and pushed her underneath him, Haruno started to panic. Her body was completely under water, and Hachiman was hovering over him, and she felt like drowning. Only a moment ago, she had tried to drown herself, to feel alive and though, she found a new perspective from the experience, she didn't necessarily enjoy it. The sensation of drowning, water filling up her lungs, made her scream, and in her panic and confusion, she kicked Hachiman in the groin.

 _Needless to say, that didn't end well._

" _Ow! OW! What the hell! You kicked me, Haruno!"_

" _Don't yell, Hachiman. I didn't mean to."_

" _You kicked me in the crotch! No one kicks someone in the crotch unless they mean it. Ow! This really hurts."_

"… _Should I-I mean can I do- something…?"_

" _No! Don't come anywhere near my…crotch. You understand. Do you Haruno?"_

" _Eh? Why are you making such a big deal out of this, Hachiman? I didn't mean it!"_

" _Oh, you mean it alright! I can still feel the…pain. Oh God! You really wanted to damage me pretty good didn't you, Haruno?"_

" _No, I didn't mean it. I keep saying it, but you aren't listening to me. I panicked okay. I was under water, and I felt like I was drowning again, and, and, and, I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe, and, and, water was everywhere, and my eyes burnt. I couldn't see. I felt your weight and I saw you on top of me and I pa-"_

" _Yes, you already said. You panicked. You saw me trying to get in the bathtub, and you panicked."_

"… _No. No! No! No! I didn't mean it like-"_

" _Then what the hell did you mean, Haruno? You panicked, because I accidently tripped and fell over you. What do you think? What do you honestly think? That I was trying to hurt you? God! Did you think I was trying to force you?"_

" _No! Just listen to me Hachiman! I-"_

" _I'm done listening."_

" _No we are-"_

" _Yes. We. Are. You-"_

Soon after, when Haruno was done, catching up her breath and Hachiman was done, worrying about his wounded man parts, harsh words began to rise up their throats like bile. Hachiman drew first blood. He spewed everything, the most horrible things he could ever say and he said it like her meant every word.

" _You don't know what you are doing. You just know how to play the part, be the ideal version of what every person needs; the seductress, the temptress, the mistress. But you don't know how to be the woman, the lover, the partner. You just know how to- You are just so…lost. You always make the first move; you are always the one to make first contact, first touch, first kiss or whatever. But the moment it becomes too much, you panic. Why? Is the great Yukinoshita Haruno afraid of intimacy? Did you once bit off more than you can chew?"_

" _Stop it. You don't know what you are saying, Hachiman."_

He called her a tease, a woman who likes to toy with men, how she likes to wound them up so tight, that they end up doing things they don't normally do, only because, she made them feel special, only because she gave them some attention, only because she called them by their first name. But then when things become a little too really, she pushes them away, tears them apart, destroys them, because, she doesn't know what to do, when things start to get real.

" _Your younger sister; she has issues too. I think she is afraid of crowds. Now, if I know, my Yukinoshita sister's correctly, both of you, have a lot of similarities. One always thinks that the younger sibling tries to copy the skills and talents of the older sibling. But, what about problems? For example, something must have happened to Yukinoshita, to make her feel afraid of a crowd of people. She once, said you played a prank on her, but I don't believe it. She is very vague and doesn't like to talk about it. So, I'm guessing it was something else and not your doing. Which begs the question, if it happened to the little sister, then it can happen to the older sister too, don't you think? Maybe, the great Yukinoshita Haruno is afraid of crowds too. Maybe, she's just good at hiding it. Or, more probably, she just learned to cope with it. Live with it. And soon, she got pretty good at it and stopped caring."_

" _I didn't- Yukino-chan doesn't-"_

He called her a slut. Said, she would do anything, use her body, her charm, her beauty, seduce and tempt any man, any guy, even kids, for her family. He said her family used her like a honey pot, they like to pimp her out.

" _Bet your family were very disappointed with you. You here all the rumours, of these rich people and their ivory towers, how the only thing they care about is to produce the next male heir. Two, lovely, beautiful girls. Both extremely talented and capable in their own rights and given the chance, they would surely be able to take on the world in their own terms. But your families hold you back. To them, you are just silly little girls, who are only good, to the family, if they land a good business deal, after an arranged marriage. A way to bring all the businesses under the same roof, make tons of money and produce a new line of male heirs: by the seal of holy matrimony. That's all you are good for. It doesn't matter, whether the guy is someone like Hayama freaking Hayato. If your family asked, you would have to let go of your pride, and play the submissive for him. And even then, he gets to pick. He could choose between you and your sister. He doesn't have to be fair, he doesn't need to understand you, or know you. He just has to marry you. You don't get a say. He gets everything, in the end. And you are okay with it. You know why? Because it pays for this expensive bathtub, this luxurious bubble baths, and this exotic, freaking candles! I bet you won't panic, if it was him in the bathtub and not-"_

" _Enough!"_

" _I am not-"_

" _I said enough, Hachiman!"_

He said she was Hayama's bitch.

…And that's when Haruno turned to Yukinoshita-san.

/

 **A/N: IMPORTANT: NEXT CHAPTER ONWARDS WILL BE RATED 'M'. 'Vignettes, Snippets, Drabbles etc' will have a new 'Title' and a new 'Summary'.**

Okay, I am a little spent, because I spent all my creative energy on "Alphabets: A Romance." but basically, after a "Multiverse Jump", there would be a chapter like this. It's messy, choppy, and mostly dialogue-y, but it's perfect for the purpose.

Now since this multiverse needs a little explaining, I will leave you guys with this new titbit:

 **New Title (Working Title): Multifaceted Truths and One Lie.**

 **New summary: "Everything was wrong. He wasn't supposed to exchange numbers with Miura, go on a massage spree over, Ebina, Shizuka, Komachi and Saki. And he wasn't definitely supposed to follow Haruno into the bath. But he did. And now he has to face the consequence. Correction: Multiple consequences. Hikigaya Hachiman was never meant to find happiness or pleasure in the company of more than one woman. But he did. And now, the entire universe is willing to make him pay."**

Okay, then food for thought.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams.

/

Oops! Almost forgot!

Here are the options for the next chapter:

Option one: Lime

Option two: Lemon

Please, pick one.


	55. Chapter 55 The Other

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 55: The Pain in Loving

He felt guilty.

The words he said to her, now that he remembered them, seem to ring untrue in his ears. During his lapse in memory, he seemed to have lost control of his thoughts, and spoken the foulest, most evil, the most vile things, imaginable, to the woman, currently straddling his lap.

He was not naïve. There was no forgiveness. No redemption. Only a painful penance awaited him. And he would not deny her some form of control, after he made her feel completely helpless and vulnerable. All this happened because of a few exchange of words. And they say words are just that: words.

If only if it were true for both of them.

"I remember, Haruno-san." Hachiman repeated. His voice was soft and hurtful. He was holding her, both hands placed firmly onto her waist, lest by any sudden movement, she fell off from his lap. It was unnecessary though. She still had her nails digging into his shoulder blade.

Haruno heard him; the abrupt rigidity settling over her body, made him aware, acutely aware of this. She was evading his eyes, looking away and that was troubling. Instead, she was giving him a faint glimpse of her lips. They were set in a small frown and she was mumbling something to herself, which he couldn't exactly hear.

"What did you say, Haruno-san?" He asked, like an idiot.

"…Don't call me that." Haruno said and her voice made him break. It was cold, far colder than anything her younger sister could conjure up. Her hands were shaking- he noticed for the first time- and she stopped them from shaking by distracting herself, using the close proximity of both their half naked bodies.

She ran her nails over his bare back, and he felt light, scratches, setting a small trail over his skin. He winced, despite himself and Haruno watched him, only to watch his pain. "You lost the privilege to call me that, Hikigaya-kun."

"You have to believe me, Haruno-san." He ignored her demands, he turned a blind eye to the glare he was received. He even managed to not wince, when her nails, dug in, painfully, at the base of his skull. "I didn't mean a single word. I just said it because I mean to hurt you. Believe me; I had no other intention except to hurt you like you hurt me."

"I hurt you." The look, oh god the look; he wondered why he wasn't dead yet. This was worse than the glare she gave him a moment ago. This was abject apathy; indifference to the level of horrors. "I hurt you?" The emphasis on words, the question in the air, it was more painful than her nails drawing blood. "How exactly did I hurt you?" She asked, mockingly.

"…You rejected me." Hachiman blurted out.

Haruno looked into his eyes. Her expression was unreadable. Hachiman felt the control slipping from his finger tips. He looked at his hands. His hands were wrapped around the small of her back. The curve of her hips, covered only by the lace hemline, felt light and almost negligible, against his calloused finger tips. It was like her was touching her bare skin.

The heat between them was growing unbearable. Something had to give. Unfortunately, Hachiman chose the wrong set of words and Haruno was more than, willing enough, to teach him a lesson. She was straddling his lap, her arms wrapped around his neck. If only… but no, she had an alternative.

"And when did I reject you, Hikigaya-kun?" Haruno would not give him the satisfaction. Calling him 'Hachiman' was a mistake. She would correct it soon. In fact, she had already begun. It was only him, who was unaware. Or more likely he had accepted his fate. It was more like him, to give into her, especially when he was in the wrong.

"…In the bathtub, Haruno-san." Hachiman stated, haltingly.

Haruno smiled; a smile which hid her true intention. She had done this before. Not like this, but there's always a first. She wanted him to be her first. She imagined it. But it had all gone to waste. But no more. She was a 'Yukinoshita'. She is more than capable to take things when she wants them. Others be damned.

"Oh?" Her hand slipped past, his shoulder blade and ran down his bare torso. He shivered lightly. Not scared, no he definitely wasn't scared. He was aroused. It did wonders for her confidence. "I don't think I remember it, Hachiman."

The false hope, making him believe everything would be alright, it was cruel. But so was he. And Haruno was capable of being far crueller. Her dominant hand, fell on top of his right hand. He was holding onto her for life, hands on her hips. He lost that privilege too. He couldn't hold her like that anymore. Not that he ever tried before. But not again. "But, I bet it hurt," Her fingers, curled themselves over his and for one moment, she imagined how things could have been, if they had gone to her bedroom, instead of her bathroom.

But this was not her imagination. She was going to hurt him. Physically. "Was it like this, Hikigaya-kun?" She said those words, while pressing a nerve bundle in his palm.

If she remembered correctly, her, self defense sensei, taught her all about this technique. How applying pressure to certain areas in the body can cause muscles to relax and be comforting. But they can also be used to cause pain.

Pain was the need of the hour. Hachiman groaned. A very painful voice, emerged from his throat as if, it had been yanked out from the deeper recesses of his body. He wiggled beneath her, trying to suppress the pain. But, like she expected, he didn't take away his hand. The same hand, she hurt. The same hand which was once, splayed over her hips. He was just going to allow her to hurt him to her heart's content.

"Tell me, Hikigaya-kun. What do you think, hurts more?" Haruno asked scathingly, "What you did to me, or what I'm about to do to you? And tell me the truth!"

"…I hurt you more, Haruno-san." Hachiman replied gravely. His hand was hurting badly, fingers twitching; a dark bruise was showing on his skin. But he wasn't going to take this away from her. In his mind, this was supposed to make her feel better. He could take the damage. Learn to live with the pain. He had done worse.

Haruno narrowed her eyes. The anger rushing in her veins. This was not what she wanted. She wanted a fair fight. She wanted to wrestle back the power; he had taken from her, forcibly. But he was not being fair. He was just offering it to her. Not even trying, to hold this to himself. It felt wrong.

"Yes you did, Hikigaya kun." She found another vulnerable spot; the webbing between his fingers. She could easily break a few, if she applied enough pressure. He wouldn't move, wouldn't try to defend himself. And wasn't all this to make her feel better.

She did it again. And he groaned. Loud and rough. His head lolled forwards almost resting on her shoulder and she pushed him back. He shouldn't expect anything less from her. This was payback. Plain and simple. He hurt her. So she was hurting him back.

"I know. I said the most horrible things." Hachiman said slowly. He was having difficulty talking. "I just felt like, you didn't want me. You were just playing with me like a toy. Only you realised, I was broken, so you intended to throw me away."

"Did, you not think that I might be feeling a little scared." Haruno snapped, "That I was afraid and vulnerable, and I wanted you. I really did. I took you in. I told you my darkest secrets. I put my life on your hands! And then, we kissed." Haruno said, remorsefully, "And just because, I was a bit overwhelmed when you fell over me, fell above me in the bathtub, you thought I rejected you. Did you not think, I was shy? I was naked!"

"You were beautiful." Hachiman murmured softly.

But if only there could be a moment between them. Everything was lost. Hachiman had accepted his fate. And Haruno had given up. Now, only she could salvage the situation by hurting him. And he could get over his guilt, by surrendering himself to her. It was nowhere near perfect. This was nowhere near the romance either of them imagined. There was no bed. Only a sofa. And lots of pain.

"Remember me like that, then." Haruno whispered into his skin. "Because, I am nowhere near done with you, Hikigaya-kun."

"I know, Haruno-san." Hachiman swore.

And just like that…

"Time." A mysterious figure growled.

Hachiman turned around. He was shocked to find a person standing in this room.

"You! But how is this possible?" Hachiman screamed. Haruno was frozen in place. Unmoving. Her entire body felt cold. He reached out and took a hold of her wrist. "What did you do? She has no pulse!"

"Of course she doesn't." The person replied. "I stopped it."

"…You stopped it?" Hachiman asked, dumbly. "You killed her!"

"No. Don't be absurd." The other person said gravely, "I stopped this reality. You, Hikigaya Hachiman, are starting to become a problem. You were a mere naissance earlier, but now you have ascended into an anomaly. Something has to happen. Right now."

"What then?" Hachiman asked. "What needs to be done?"

"Correction." The mysterious figure replied. "Something needs to be redone." He looked at the frozen figure of Haruno. There was affection clear in his eyes. Hachiman recognized it quickly. And why shouldn't he. This mysterious figure was, after all him.

"I don't follow." Hachiman asked the other Hachiman.

"Of course you don't." The other Hachiman replied. "You are out of time." He then narrowed his eyes. "Although, I have to admit, you are taking this a lot well than the other Hachiman's I met. In fact one of them shot me. Then mumbled something about a 'journal'. I think, he's the crazy one."

"…Yeah, I didn't get that. But I kinda saw you earlier." Hachiman said, "It was when my mind blanked out, and I was seeing this weird images."

"Hmm…" The other Hachiman said, "Interesting." He raised his hand, "We have a lot to talk. The others are in danger. And I'm not just talking about the Hachimans. We have made quite a world for ourselves haven't we, Hikigaya?"

"…Um?"

"No need to answer." The other Hachiman raised his hand.

And then, he snapped his fingers and they were gone.

…Removed from existence.

/

A/N: Okay, I know I botched this entire Haruno arc. I know I let people down. But I have learnt my lesson. Please focus on one word in the entire exchange between the two Hachiman's.

The word "redone".

For now, I can only say sorry.

I won't give any more options. At least, not now. For now I just want to right my wrongs. And get back to writing what I want. And how I want.

Thank you for your support, everybody.

And to those I let down, I will win back your trust.

I promise.

/


	56. Chapter 56 The Haruno Arc (Redone)Part 1

Don't Own Oregairu

Warning: Lime at the end.

Chapter 56: Haruno Arc Remastered, Part I (Universe 12235360)

Never thought of her like this. Never thought of her with me. We come from different worlds, worlds apart in fact. She is a beautiful woman, with many family issues, which she hides behind a playful wink and a fake smile. And I am just a loner, with a rotten brain, a pair of dead fish eyes, and a monster of logic, bound in its cage, whispering sweet nothings in my ears. Taken together, we cannot be more unalike. But life is full of bitter ironies. Should have known better. Girls like her; No, there aren't any girls like her. I know better, now.

"You know what our problem is, don't you, Hikigaya-kun?" Haruno had asked me once.

"…"

I had stayed silent, tried to play dumb. Yes, I knew what the problem was. I also knew how it could be solved. But I knew: a problem wasn't a problem, until it became a problem. And so I stayed silent.

But she saw through me and gave me a soft smile, "It's not that we trust each other. I'm not saying that we do. But, what I think is, it's more about, how we don't trust ourselves with each other. Am I making any sense, Hikigaya-kun?"

"I don't think so, no." I had told her back then. But I understood her perfectly. And there was the beginning of our problem.

"Nope, I think I made perfect sense." Haruno had said coolly, amusement evident in her voice, "I don't think anyone else could understand this, but you are not just anyone are you, Hikigaya kun? You are clever. Not like me, well at least not yet. But you have that beautiful mind of yours. I think I love your brain the most. What about you, what do you say?"

"…I say, that sounds a bit creepy, Yukinoshita-san."

I had tried to mask my uneasiness with dry humour. It hadn't worked as well as I had hoped. But I wasn't dealing with Yukinoshita. I was dealing with her elder sister and she was something else, altogether.

"It is what it is." Haruno had replied and then with a soft, almost tender caress on my cheeks, she had left, without even saying a proper goodbye. For the first time, I felt the importance of social contracts and common courtesies. Her 'hellos' and 'goodbyes', shouldn't hold such a significance over me. But they did and I found it a little problematic.

My problem was not falling in love with a girl. No, it was something different, altogether. It was mutual understanding; a perfect, clear, understanding of a girl, of the workings of her mind, of the cause and effect, of her every action and inaction, which affected her and everyone and everything, concerning her.

"Aren't you curious?" Haruno had asked me once, "Why I keep coming back to you, why I keep asking about, you and my dear Yukino-chan, about whether there has been any change or progress in your relationship, in the work you do for her service club. Haven't you ever wondered why I am so interested in the both of you? Don't tell me you haven't thought about this, Hikigaya-kun."

"…I have." I replied, using the fewest of words.

"And?" She one-upped me, even there.

"I think you are just worried about your little sister, Yukinoshita-san." I had explained to her back then. It wasn't completely a lie. "You are worried about her and as a result you are worried about me. Rest assured, I have no intention of impinging your sister's honour. Believe me, it was her first concern when Hiratsuka sensei, brought me to her service club."

"But, it not hers anymore, Hikigaya-kun." Haruno had explained in return, "The service club is yours too. I am guessing, Hiratsuka-sensei made a competition out of it. About who gets to solve more requests. About who wins the 'battle of the service club' or something equally silly. But tell me, Hikigaya-kun, what does the winner wins, at the end?"

"…I have no intention of winning, Yukinoshita-san." I had told her, immediately. Back then it was the truth.

"But you will, Hikigaya-kun." Haruno had said those words in a grave tone.

"…" I had stayed quiet. There was nothing, I could say to her at that point. It was all up to her.

The sigh leaving her lips, was disheartening, and it was for the first time, that I had seen anything close to defeat on her features, "It's a fact of life, that those who have no intention of leading an army into battle are more often than not, entrusted to lead them into victory at war. And those, who have no intention to win, are always the ones, presented with the biggest advantages, to test their resolve." I didn't think of this back then, but now, I think, she was talking more about herself than me, at that point in time, "Even if you don't do anything, even if you don't try to win, Yukino-chan losses and that's something you don't want on your conscience. Believe me, Hikigaya-kun."

"…I shall take your concerns into account, Yukinoshita-san." I had replied, haltingly.

Haruno had cast a mask of indifference by that point, "It's not only my concern, Hikigaya-kun." She had murmured into her cup of latte.

I had taken my leave, without saying anything else. Not even a goodbye. It didn't matter at that point, and for the first time, I felt like myself: Unconcerned.

She was never my concern. And I was never hers.

"Are you two at least friends?" Haruno had asked me once. "I mean, you two spend a lot of time together and I take it, Gahama-san, has become friends with Yukino-chan by this point. So what's stopping you from becoming her friend?"

"…She rejected me." I had replied, curtly.

"You confessed?" Haruno had asked, and it was the first time, I saw anything close to resembling mild shock and complete astonishment, flash across her beautiful face. I didn't think too much back then, when I called her 'beautiful' in my mind. She was a good looking woman after all and despite my rotten dead fish eyes, I wasn't blind in the face of beauty.

"No." I had replied, smoothly. "I simply asked, if she wanted to be friends with me. But she rejected my offer, even before I completed my sentence. It happened on the very first day we met in the service club."

"Oh," Haruno had said, sullenly. "…Well, that was a little mean of her."

"Yeah well. She's your sister." I had thrown in, derisively. Again, I should have thought this through. But I didn't. The monster of logic chided me. Told me, I should have kept my mouth shut. Uncomfortable silences were much better than idle chit chat. But I wasn't listening to him. I was listening to her

"Yes, she is." Haruno had said, affectionately, "We can't choose our sisters. But we can always choose, what kind of a sister, we want to be for them."

She had then smiled at me, and it was a smile, I was not used to seeing. It made me lower my guard and I never do something like that, especially when I am around her. "You understand right. You are an elder sibling too, aren't you, Hikigaya-kun."

I had tried to look away, unsuccessfully, "Komachi is a much better little sister."

Haruno had laughed. It was nice. Nice and real, "We'll agree to disagree on that note, Hikigaya kun."

"Yes, well, like you said to me once, it is what it is." I had said to her, a little awkwardly at first. I didn't want her to think, I remembered her every word, her every sentence like some sick creep. I found my voice soon after, and it was needlessly deep. "You should also know, Yukinoshita-san, that I don't intend to ask Yukinoshita to be friends with me in the future."

Haruno had smiled. "Must be difficult, no." She had said in return, completely disregarding my statement, "Differentiating between me and my sister, when you are used to calling us both, by the same last name. It's only about the presence and lack of an honorific. Without it, there would be no difference between the two of us, when you talk about me and Yukino-chan."

"I manage just fine, Yukinoshita-san." I told her, emphasising her honorific for added effect. I didn't know where she was going with this, and I didn't have the strength of will to return back to the point I was making. I should have, but I didn't.

"I know you do, Hikigaya-kun." Haruno had replied then, "But, I'm just saying that, if you want, you can call me Haruno-san. Or a simple Haruno will do too."

I looked at her. "I don't follow." Confusion was evident in my features.

"Oh jeez! You are gonna make me say it, aren't you," Haruno had shaken her head, ruefully and then looked at me, with an open face.

For a moment, I thought, she was going to say something else. But she didn't and I felt annoyed. I don't know why. Instead she told me the obvious, like she didn't know I already knew it beforehand. But appearances needed to be kept, parts needed to be played and I was stuck playing the fool to her. "All I'm saying is, if you want, I can be your friend. And friends call each other by their first name, right?"

"…Right." I had mumbled, embarrassingly.

"Good. I'm glad we reached an understanding." Haruno had said, and on that note, she had gotten up and left. There was no exchange of goodbyes, no looking back. But at least there was an understanding and for me, it was better than anything else.

Yes, Haruno understood me better than anyone else. Not even her younger sister, the girl tasked to understand me and assimilate me, back into society, failed to comprehend me and deemed me for a failure.

"Oh cheer up, Hikigaya-kun." Haruno had said to me once. "I heard you had an interesting school trip. I don't know what happened, exactly, but I can see it has affected Yukino-chan severely, as well. If I didn't know any better, I would say, she confessed to you and you rejected her confession. But I am guessing that's not what happened."

"You guessed right, Yukinoshita-san." I had murmured to the textbook, sitting in front of me. There was nothing wrong in the essay, but sensei had told me to re-write it again. As if I didn't have anything better to do with my time.

"Oh? It must be serious. You are even trying to ignore me." Haruno had informed me and without any other reason, except to annoy me further, she had taken a hold of my jaw and forced me to look up, straight into her face. "I don't like it when you ignore me, Hachiman."

"I don't ignore you, Yukinoshita-san." I had told her firmly.

My entire face was balanced on her index finger and I wondered, whether I imagined the small caress of her finger, at the underside of my jaw line. There was a time, when I was always sure of myself. I don't know why I am not beginning to miss those days.

"Can you call me Haruno?" She had asked of me. For the first time, I heard the uncertainty in her voice. She was making a request of me. I don't know for sure but I think, she was as unsure as I was back then. This should have made me afraid. But I drew comfort from this unfamiliarity. We were both walking on thin ice.

"I can call you -" I was let down by my words. Looking back, this was the first time, Haruno called me by my first name. Previously, she had thrown it in the air, saying something about how we can be friends if I wanted and how friends should call each other by their first name. But it was proving to be difficult, to practice what we preach, "-Haruno-san-" The first time I said her first name, tasted it on my lips, and saw the soft expression on her face. "Sometimes." I didn't want to believe this. I didn't want to believe myself.

It was at a time, when I was hell bent on avoiding her or anyone with the last name 'Yukinoshita'. Both sisters were troublesome for different reasons and I didn't like to think of them, back then.

"I can call you, Haruno-san, sometimes." I repeated, more to reassure myself than her.

"Fair enough." Haruno had said to me. In all fairness, this was just unfair. "And as her elder sister, I apologize if Yukino-chan, said something terrible to you. She means well, she really does. But, she is not like you or me. Not like us."

"Like us?" I had asked, more than a little confused.

As far as I knew, Haruno was as different from me, as I was different from Yukinoshita. They were sisters. They had to share similarities. On the other hand, how can Haruno compare me with her? She is herself. And I am myself. We have to be different. The comparison should have been insulting to me, but for some reason it wasn't.

"Yes." Haruno had said, "We always know how to approach a situation, Hikigaya-kun. We know what needs to be done and more importantly, we know what cannot be done. The others might not like us for what we do, or how we do things, but they can't argue with the results. We get the job done. We get results. And at the end of the day that's all that matters."

I never wanted to play devil's advocate, but I couldn't pass up on the opportunity. "They say, the ends don't justify the means, Yukinoshita-san."

Haruno smiled. "They are right." She knew what I was doing. She saw the humour in this, "But, we don't get the luxury of an alternative choice, do we, Hikigaya-kun. If we did, they wouldn't come to us with their problems. It might be different. Maybe even better. But we wouldn't be ourselves. And if we aren't ourselves, we won't be relevant."

I sighed gravely, "I wish I was irrelevant."

"So do I, Hikigaya-kun." Haruno said softly, "Every single day."

It was funny really. Yukinoshita Yukino gave me up for a lost cause. 'Good riddance' the monster of logic had said. But Yukinoshita Haruno took me in: my ways, my methods, my plans, my schemes. The way I handled every single request, put forth before the service club, and in turn, put before my presence; they didn't revolt her like it did her younger sister. She told me to keep an eye on her precious little sister and before I could refuse, she left, leaving me flustered with a playful wink.

"Yukino-chan is at an important juncture in her life." Haruno had told me once. "For the first time, in her life, she is letting herself be surrounded by people, who genuinely care for her. There's Gahama-chan, who I misjudged early on, but I won't be making the same mistake again. She can be a force to reckon with, if presented with the proper incentive. I heard from Shizuka-chan, what she did during the student council election."

"I won't let, Yuigahama get mixed up in this." I said firmly. It was the first time, I stood up against her and for a moment, I thought, I had this backwards. But it was a very small moment. It escaped my grasp, before I could think on it.

"Oh?" Haruno had exclaimed, softly. There was a hint of humour in her tone, but I didn't find anything remotely funny. "Do you love her back, Hikigaya-kun?" Whenever we talked together, we often skipped over, unnecessary sentences. I guess, back then, she had decided to skip over the part, where Yuigahama, had fallen in love with me. I didn't think, there might be another reason.

"Yuigahama is a nice girl." I said, instead of answering her question, "Stay away from her."

"You didn't answer my question, Hikigaya-kun." Haruno had asked then. For the first time, I got a glimpse of her other side. The more demanding, more pressing persona. I was acquainted with the 'demoness of deceit ', but I don't like to think of ourselves as acquaintances. "Do you love, Yuigahama Yui?"

"…I care for her," I said, assertively. It was the best I could do, at that point of time. I needed a better understanding of my feelings.

"What about, Yukino-chan?" Haruno had asked afterwards.

"…I care for your sister too, Yukinoshita-san." I had replied. It was true as well. Despite my best intentions, Yuigahama Yui and Yukinoshita Yukino had managed to get close to me. For the time being, I didn't like to ponder on the nature of our closeness.

"And what about me?" Haruno had asked playfully. Her eyes had softened and the smile had returned to her face. She had secured her hold, over her demoness and pushed her back to whatever crevice it habituated in her mind. I could sympathise. My monster of logic, was chewing on the bars of the cages, asking to be let out, this instant. If only I listened.

"What about you, Yukinoshita-san." I had asked, like the idiot I was back then.

"Nothing." Haruno had winked. A saucy, more devilish wink, "I was wondering whether you have any 'care' left for this, poor, unloving onee-san. I might need you someday, you know?" She had put unneeded emphasis on the word, 'care'. Like it was a euphemism. She know what I mean, when I use the word 'care' and the thought, should make me blush, because it's embarrassing to admit these feelings. But thankfully, I don't. I just focus on the wrong word, like she intended.

"…Need me? Need me for what?" I really was stupid. She was setting me up for the biggest fall of the century.

"Well you know?" No. I didn't know. And the way she whispered those words, right into my ear wasn't helping, my higher brain functions. The way her hot breath, tickled over my skin, was making it harder to think. I think I felt her hands, clasp over my wrist. To anyone else, this might seem like a romantic moment. But it wasn't. Because we weren't in love. We just understood each other very well.

"Know what?" I had asked. Turning sideways, I felt the softest of touch on my cheek.

"That." The sensation of wetness was gone, before I could gather what happened. A woman. No; not just any woman. This was Yukinoshita Haruno and she just gave me a small peck on my right cheek. I felt myself go still and I felt her slowly stand up on her feet. She adjusted her dress, needlessly, played with the hemline and ran a hand through her short, dark hair. She evaded my eyes, but I wasn't looking at her. My hand was busy rubbing the spot, she just kissed. I wondered why it felt so warm.

"See you later, Hachiman" Haruno had said, without looking at me. She had turned on her heels and started walking away from me, leaving me, resting on my seat at the café, with an unfinished essay, which wasn't going to be writing itself.

"Yeah," I remember telling her, "See you soon."

She met up with me. Sometimes. But every time out conversations, hinged on her little sister. Haruno was only interested in the activities of her precious little, 'Yukino-chan'. I was just a means to an end. At least that's what I liked to think about myself, whenever we met during one of her, 'information exchange meetings' as the monster of logic, dubbed them. Then we talked about other things. Mostly myself. Or at least whatever there was left to talk. I wasn't a big conversationalist but Yukinoshita Haruno proved to be a good listener. She found our talks 'interesting', which was an indirect way of saying she found me interesting. Before I could chalk all this up into utter nonsense, she cleared my doubts. 'Yes, I think you are interesting', she informed me dutifully. It shouldn't mean anything to me, but it surprised me when it did.

"Is that really surprising," Haruno had asked him once, "You are interesting to me. You must, know by now, that you are a bit different than others, Hikigaya-kun. I mean, you are not unintelligent, are you. Although, you are a bit average in the science related subjects. I wonder why."

"I hate maths." I had replied, ruefully. Really, maths is right up there with tomatoes.

"Ah, well. You have my condolences." Haruno had said, good naturedly.

However, our talks never turned to her. I learned early on, that her life was out of bounds. Haruno was a private person. At least the Haruno, I came to know over these talks. The others know a different version of the truth, a better version of the woman, I find myself talking to. 'It's not a façade', as she says, to me often, almost defending herself to me, in a manner of speaking. 'It's just not entirely, me.' I try not to linger on her explanation and she, cleverly, switches to another line of thought. Every discussion, regarding her, the woman named 'Haruno', remains incomplete and unfinished. I find myself, bothered about it, but I don't know why. I don't ask and that's something, I am very good at.

"You know, you come to this café often don't you, Hikigaya-kun." Haruno had looked around a bit, taking in the scenery, "I wonder what the other patrons, think of us."

"Of us?" She had called us, 'us', once before. I didn't catch onto her stream of thought, back then.

"Why yes." Haruno had said, matter of factly, "We meet each other at this café, every other week. We eat our food together, we drink coffee, I get a few pastries for home, and you buy a can of Maxx Coffee on the way out. It's more or less our routine, isn't it? We talk, I laugh, you eat." Her voice grew warmer, lowered conspiratorially, "I think everyone her thinks we are dating."

It was not like a date. It was nowhere near fancy enough, even for my standards and I like to think a ramen shop is the perfect place for a date. Komachi might disagree but as always my logic is sound: If it's good enough for Naruto to end up with Hinata, then it should be good enough for almost everyone.

"Oh." I had not thought of this. But to be fair, she came onto me. Nope, that's some stupid stuff, riajuus would make up, to get themselves out of trouble. I should ask. "Does that bother you, Yukinoshita-san?"

"Not in the slightest." Haruno had replied with a smile.

Thankfully it wasn't a ramen shop. But she somehow came to know about this café, where I liked to finish up my rejected essays. After that, whenever she needed to find me, it was there and like an idiot, I never even thought of going to a different café. I am a creature of habit it seems and Yukinoshita Haruno was gradually learning about my habitat. It should have been a tad disconcerting, but it wasn't and that, surprised me.

"Do you ever think about your future, Hikigaya-kun?" Haruno had asked me once.

I shook my head, "I want to be a househusband. But I know, I have to think of something else."

Haruno had raised an eyebrow, "Oh?" she had exclaimed, a little exaggeratedly, "What made you change your mind on the whole 'househusband' deal. You were so passionate about it, when we met."

"…It seems highly unlikely, is all." I had replied.

"Well, maybe. But who knows." Haruno had looked straight into my eyes, and I know it took effort on her part not to blink, because I was doing the same. I was holding onto her gaze, "Maybe, Yukino-chan will marry you and you two will live happily ever after."

I shook my head in mock derision, "I have a better chance of getting married to Hiratsuka-sensei then her."

"Oh?" Haruno had shown the faintest bit of interest, "I didn't know you like older women, Hikigaya-kun."

I took a calculated risk, "Well, we have made it a habit of meeting in this café, every other week, Yukinoshita-san. I would hardly spend this much time with someone, I didn't like."

Haruno had schooled her features well. Maybe she was expecting my answer. She took a gentle sip from her cup and then murmured softly, "I am way younger than Shizuka-chan, Hachiman." She used my first name. "In fact, I am only two years older than you." It was a point, I choose not to understand.

"Got it!" I said instead, "Never make fun of a woman's age."

She let me have this, "Precisely. I should have expected Shizuka-chan to beat some sense into you by now, but I guess, she is growing soft in her old age, don't you think?"

I thought of the punch to my gut, I received earlier, for an essay. "…No comment."

"You are smart," Haruno had conceded, "But that's hardly surprising anymore."

Haruno was full of surprises. I was wary of her at first. Still am: of her masks and facades and fake smiles. The clever manipulation, the subtle influences, the hidden play of hands, always puts me on edge. The monster of logic dubbed her 'the demoness of deceit' and I couldn't help but smile. The moniker suited her perfectly.

"I know I am not like you." Haruno had once said to me, "I don't know whether I can help my sister by showering her with love and affection. Sometimes, I look at this bond between you and Komachi and I feel so jealous."

I tried not to be too proud over this, "Well, we have our problems too, Yukinoshita-san." I looked at the recent memory, "During the Kyoto trip, I found Komachi a bit annoying. She was trying to look after me, trying to figure out what went wrong, but I didn't let her. It caused a bit of trouble. In the end, we are all we have. We had to find a way to fix it."

"And how did you?" Haruno had asked me. This was the first time, I thought, she was looking for advice. At other times, she wanted to listen to my opinions on certain matters. But not on this. She knew I had a better handle on this.

"I was in the wrong. I realised this early on. So I apologized to her later. And after a bit of heart to heart, she forgave me and we spend the evening, playing video games on the sofa." I looked back to that evening, "Good times." I said more to myself.

Haruno sighed, "I don't think we can do that." She said, solemnly. She evaded my eyes, and I knew she was ashamed to admit this, "We are a bit far gone."

I wanted to reach for her hand on the table, but I settled for placing my hand around my cup and giving it a light squeeze, "I don't think so. You are still sisters. I know you love Yukinoshita." I said, and this time I put my hand on the table. Not reaching for her, but, not being a complete coward. I said the last sentence, with reverence, "And I think I know, she loves you too, Haruno." The first time I said her name and said it first, and I felt a little bit of happiness slipping into my soul. It was strange, but not unwanted.

"Thank you." Haruno replied. I looked at our hands. She had intertwined her fingers with mine. I showed a bit of courage and she rewarded me ten folds. It was really unfair of me. "Thank you, Hachiman." She gave my hand a squeeze and I squeezed back. What was the world coming to? Holding hands with Haruno, over the table, in a small café, being overlooked by the setting sun. God of Romantic Comedy, you are a bastard.

"It's getting late." Haruno had said one day. She was looking at the setting sun and not her wrist watch. I thought we still had time, "I should better get going." She got up from her seat, straightened her clothes and then ran a hand through her hair. It's something Yukinoshita does, but I like the way, Haruno does it. It's less condescending and more like a nervous tick. It shows her human side.

"Do you want me to walk you home?" I had never offered to escort her home, but then again, today we had stayed up till late. The shadows were looming and the cold chill of the weather was settling in.

"I-" Haruno looked uncertain and I immediately felt guilty. She must have misunderstood.

"I don't mean anything else by it!" I had blurted out, then I took the worst possible route to explain myself, "Not that you aren't an attractive woman. And not that I find you not beautiful-" Oh I was an idiot back then. Still am. "I just-" Haruno was giving me time, time to breathe, time to get my head in the game, "I just want to make sure you are safe." I had said, at last.

"You care?" Haruno could use fewer words when she needed. I respected that. It gave more time to process thoughts, which shouldn't be running around in our heads in the first place.

"I do." I said vehemently. I could have walked towards her, I could have taken her hand and she would let me, but I chose to wait this out. We needed to be extremely sure about this. We can't risk a miscalculation on our part.

"I believe you, Hachiman." Those are not the words I want to hear on her lips. It's better than throwing around the word 'care' like it's a euphemism. But those are still not the words I want to hear. She got the 'I' right and the 'you'. But not the word in the middle; and we both knew it was the most important word in that fabled sentence.

"Okay, then." I had said, getting up and moving towards her. "Lead the way, Haruno-san"

"Okay." She had nodded heavily, understanding the situation.

Like I said, nothing happened back then. I took her back to her apartment. She wished me goodnight and then I went back to my home. This wasn't the moment. This was just a faint understanding. Our time would come. Soon. Of this I was sure.

To everyone else, Yukinoshita Haruno is the ideal woman. A female icon every young girl, aspires to become one day, the very idea of it, as repeatedly reinforced on them, by their parents. The result is a young girl named Yukino. But this is not about her. At least, this time it isn't. It's about me and her; Hikigaya Hachiman and Yukinoshita Haruno. And how, we came to call each other, Hachiman and Haruno. It's about the day she asked me to come home with her and it about the time, I felt myself, going along with her. It's about our shared moments. This is about us.

-/-/-/-

Like many things in life, this wasn't planned. At least not on my part. I know for a fact, that she had my number, but it was never used to call me up and talk ceaselessly, about useless things in our day to day life. I never called her, I never sought her out. I tried my best to stay away from her. But, Haruno was nothing, if not meticulous and resourceful. She narrowed her search parameters and found me at school. It was during the lunch break. I was alone, eating in silence and my favourite spot was empty as usual. There was no one there, except for me and my half eaten bento. The cold sea breeze blew like a bad habit and my ears picked up the sound of rustling clothes. Female clothes. I think imagined the smell of her perfume, but I was already sure it was her, before I even looked up from my lunch box.

"How did you get in?" I asked conversationally, "I thought, people weren't allowed into school the same way student weren't allowed to go out during school hours."

"Well," Haruno smiled, "I am an alumni of Sobu High, and I am on a first name basis with Shizuka-chan. On top of that my last name is Yukinoshita, so I guess, some magic happened."

I snorted, "I bet it did."

Haruno wore a white floral blouse, complete with intricate patterns and beautiful symmetry, with the top two buttons left undone, to keep her cool in this humid weather and stop her from sweating, unnecessarily. It drew the gaze of many a man to her ample bosom, but I think she was already used to having all this attention on her. She was a beautiful woman. Simply gorgeous. There was nothing to hide behind when it was the truth.

"How did you know where to find me?" I asked.

She looked back at the tennis court, "Your little friend was kind enough to tell me where you are. He's a nice guy."

"Yes, Totsuka is an angle." I replied truthfully.

"Oh? Not even a hint jealousy in your voice, when I talk about another guy. You must have some serious confidence in yourself or your friend, Hikigaya kun. I know for a fact, that Hayato kun would be jealous."

"I'm not Hayama." I don't know why, but I needed to make sure she knew. I was my own person.

"Of course you are not him," Haruno said, "I wouldn't spend so much time with you if you were."

I looked away, "We don't spend that much time together, Yukinoshita-san," I said, without much forethought, "We just meet up every other week for a few hours."

"Oh?" I didn't miss the playful tinge in her voice. She had laid a trap and I had fallen head first into it, "Do you want to spend more time with me, Hachiman?"

Using first name basis was the sign of a subtle shift. It was the time to take risks and show some courage. I had grown accustomed to this by now, "It isn't your worse idea, Haruno-san."

I had the proper vantage point. She was standing to her full length, wearing high heels and I was sitting down on the steps of a remote shed, near the cycle stand. I looked. But only at her face: at her eyes, her mouth, her lips. She gave me a smile. It was a common courtesy. I didn't smile back. Only nodded, acknowledging her presence and continued chewing my food, slower than before. I wanted to know what she wanted, this time around. I wanted to tell her the truth. I won't be her little errand boy, I won't spy on her sister. I wasn't a means to an end. I wasn't a guilty pleasure.

"Then, can you come with me, Hachiman?" Haruno asked softly. She was looking down at me, and from her perspective, she had the advantage. She could turn on her heels and walk away. I had to get up first. I didn't. She could stand on her own two feet. I knew for a fact, she was not staying. This was the time to decide.

"Okay." I said, resolutely. I dusted myself up before getting back up on my own two feet and I realised, not for the first time, that I was taller than her. Not by a lot, but just enough. Now that I think about it, I am taller than Hiratsuka-sensei too. Maybe I hit my final growth spurt back in summer, and I grew a few inches in my third year of high school. What are the odds? 'As much as whatever this is between me and Haruno' the monster of logic supplied, unhelpfully.

"Just like that," Haruno asked. She was sounding a little sceptical, "You didn't even ask where I am taking you."

"I trust you." I said seriously. I wanted to let her know, how much I trusted her, even though, she had proved herself to be duplicitous and manipulative, on multiple occasions. In the back of my mind, I knew I was being stupid. The monster of logic, gnarled and gnashed, but I shut the door on him and threw away the cage.

"Good," Haruno said, feeling shaky, "At least one of us trusts me with this."

"With what? Are there more people coming around?" I asked, then looked over her shoulder, but she stopped my ceaseless search by taking my hand in hers.

"No." Haruno had replied firmly, "It just us."

"That sounds nice." I replied, swiftly.

We had come a long way from our days, spent in the café, being overlooked by the sunset, but still, there was many things left unsaid. We only had an understanding and thought it was comforting at first. But now it was proving to be a little discomforting. Our talks at the café had changed altogether. We ate our food, we had our drink and we talked about ourselves, our lives, while keeping our secrets and lies to ourselves. We tried to be honest to each other. We really made an effort. We thought less about her little sister and more about us.

To me we had progressed. We weren't afraid of the new. She touched my forearm, tugged my sleeves, and kissed me on the cheek. There was no routine. It came to us spontaneously. But it happened sometimes. And we both liked it. I called her by her first name, I held her hand, I ran my fingers through her soft, glossy hair. I pulled her close. Sometimes I pulled her very close to me. Our goodbyes end on a loving hug nowadays.

"Okay then," I squeezed her palm. Show courage and you will be rewarded, was my new mantra, whenever I felt myself giving more and more to the enigma know as Haruno. Soon, there would be nothing left of me.

"I want to do something. Something I didn't do back then." Haruno said, vaguely. She was looking at the ground, not meeting my gaze. I recognized that look. It happened one time before. But only once.

I looked back into our time spent together. Only one day, or more accurately, one evening came to mind. But I couldn't skip it. This was not useless. It was in fact the most important sentence we will ever say to each other, "And what is that?" I asked. One of my hands was holding onto hers for comfort and using my other hand, I tilted her face upwards. I needed to look into her eyes. I needed to know this was really happening. I wanted to know the truth.

"I want you to walk me home, Hachiman." Haruno said. She shivered against my touch, when I took a loose strand of her hair and put it behind her ears. The back of my palm, my knuckles brushed against her soft skin and I felt myself liking the sensation very much.

"And?" I urged her to continue. We were at a very secluded spot in the school grounds. I eat my lunch here because I prefer to eat in silence and admire the privacy. But the piece and quite is good for other things as well. I realise this now, when I am holding her this close to my body. Haruno arches her back, as I run my fingers down her spine. For all intent and purposes, it was meant to be a comforting hug. But we tend to comfort each other differently.

"And, as you leave me on my doorsteps-" Haruno tangled her fingers in my hair and pulled me close. I buried my face in the crook of her neck and inhaled her very essence. I love her scent. It was close to the truth, but not to the whole truth. I need to tell her soon.

"Yes, then what," I spoke the words, my mouth running against the column of her throat. I have never kissed her. She had given me soft pecks on my cheek. One time around she had come close. So close. But then, her lips fell on the corner of my mouth and I was left staring at her lips like an idiot. I imagined what her lips would taste like. But I already know, the real thing would be better than anything my mind can imagine. So I wait. We wait. I hold her close. I speak softly, into the column of her throat. And we see where we go from here.

"And, as you leave me on my doorsteps, I want you to kiss me good night." Haruno said those words; no she breathed those words, poured them like sweet nectar, into my sensitive ears. My arms were wrapped around her back, my palms resting at the small of her back, a few of my fingers brushed against the swell of her hips. We were moulded, sculpted, made whole and then undone.

Show courage and you will be rewarded, I repeated.

I slowly dragged my hands up her spine, sending pleasant shivers up her back. She bucked her hips against me, but I held her close. I held her so close, it was unbearable. I rounded my palms around her shoulders, ran them past her collar bone, slid them up the side of her neck, and then gently cupped her soft, round cheeks. They felt warm and hot, against my palms and the red tint of her skin, made me know, I wasn't the only one blushing.

"Haruno," I said her name, reverently, like I was praying to a goddess for eternal life, "Are you sure?" This was a new step: A new step in our understanding of each other. There could be no going back. I wanted to be absolutely certain, this was what she wanted. As for me, I wanted this. I wanted this for a long time. But I gave up long time ago. No use in nursing false hope. If only I knew now, what I knew back then. But like I said, I know better.

"I am." Haruno replied, firmly.

Never kissed a girl in my life. And the first woman I get to kiss is none other than Yukinoshita Haruno. I didn't need to be told twice. The impulses in me raged fuelled something primitive inside of me which was caged. The monster of logic sang a different tune now. A low growl emanated from the back of my throat and I sealed my intentions against her lips.

She wrapped her hands around my shoulder blades, pulled me down to her level. I obeyed her every wish. Her lips: warm, moist and soft, rushed me, took away my breath and left me wanting for more. She was more than eager and equally enthusiastic as I was, and I loved every minute of this. The feel of her feminine figure in my arms, the warmth of her lips on my mouth, they enticed me and made me lose myself in her.

I pulled her into me, my lips having no intention of separating from her and she followed my movement and stood to her full height, balancing on her toes, to prolong the meeting of our lips. I ran my hands up her spine and she arched her back. I drew a delicious moan from, deep within her throat and it sounded a lot like my name.

"Hachiman~"

The sound unhinged me. Broke me and made me whole. She thrust her hips forward, began to ground her pelvis into my crotch, at a particular rhythm, and I almost bucked into her. We were both clothed, though our appearance was more than a little ruffled. I groaned her name; a sound which rose from the back of my throat and she smiled against my lips. Now we were on equal footing.

"Haruno…"

I slipped my tongue inside her mouth, and began a slow, timid exploration of her insides. She was hot and warm and moist and delicious. She tasted like the coffee and the pastries, and all the different varieties of sweets, we had in that café. It made me hunger. Not for food or nourishment, but for her.

I was voracious in my explorations, and she was equally willing. I wanted to feel her, taste her, take her. And I knew, she wanted the same thing. We have been walking on eggshell before, thinking we would step into a landmine and blow ourselves up. But, to hell with it. I wanted her. I needed her. I wanted, I needed, all of her.

The sounds she was making, was going to be my undoing. The soft, breathy moans, where she said my name over and over again, like she was making sure this was me, like she was making sure this was real and not a dream and really happening; it made me want her more. I suckled on her tongue, made her make those wet and sticky noises, held her close and then pulled at her lips. My teeth scraped across her flesh, but I was being very careful not to hurt her. I wanted to savour her. Savour this experience. I wanted us to have more time.

I felt a sharp pain at the back of my neck and I knew, Haruno had sharp nails, and she was done being gentle and nice. I pressed my body over her petite figure and she draped herself over mine; we dressed ourselves in each other and hid from the cruel world. Even though, this was just kissing and we were still clothed, we both knew where this was going, where this was headed. I could be patient, I could wait. But I was done waiting. I was done in by her.

Her body, her figure, her each and every curve and contour, made me lose more and more of myself, in her and soon nothing of me would be left, which wasn't in her. I was oddly okay with everything. I pulled her close, she ground her hips into me and I kissed her, again and again and again, until we couldn't breathe. But we kept breathing and we kept kissing and this was nowhere near enough.

My hand ran up her face, held onto her cheeks and I saw myself in her eyes. My thumb drew a half circle on her cheekbone and I kissed her again. This time I was myself. I had a better understanding of what I was doing and what was happening. The primitive, base instincts were there, just under my skin, but I was more myself. My tongue stroked her lips, and gently plied them open and then I was engulfed in her warmth again. I could kiss her like this forever and ever and ever. My hand then circled back and gently nestled themselves in her hair. I pulled her close and she came through. My thumb continued to moon half-circles at the nape of her neck. I could feel goose bumps riddle her flesh and I closed my eyes and savour her taste. My hand travelled lower. Down her neck, down her spine and settled at the rise of her hips.

She moaned my name again, pressed herself closer to me than humanly possible and I supported her endeavour by grasping her hips firmly with my hands. I think she knew I was aroused. It was a little obvious, when she was standing this close, wrapped up in me and my body, my groin brushing against her, painfully, and wanting that, sweet, sweet release, which it had been teased for so long.

But we had to do this properly. I had to let the monster slip in, take control, breathe reason into all this chaos. I needed to break the kiss and pull away. But I needed to hold her close. I wanted to never let her go, because I feared, that if I did, all this would turn into a stupid dream.

One more kiss, one last caress, one fleeting touch and I withdrew myself from her arms, extricated myself from drowning in her essence and extracted myself from giving into the immediate necessity. Haruno opened her eyes, her eyelashes fluttering, but she held onto my arm. She didn't want to let go of this too. She was also scared, that this might all be a dream. He sympathised with her. Empathised even. Both of them had the same fear, plaguing their mind.

"Did you imagine it like this, Haruno-san?" I asked soft. I held her at an arm's length, not trusting myself to be in control and stop myself from wanting to kiss her again.

"Imagine what?" For the first time, Haruno sounded genuinely confused. She looked at me with awe and amazement, like I was a different person. But I knew that wasn't the case. She was seeing a new side of me. She knew I had this, I had to have this for someone, but she never expected it to be her. The shock was self evident and disheartening. I tried not to dwell too much on it.

"Our good night kiss." I explained to her, "Was it like this?"

"No," Haruno replied swiftly, "This was even better." She brought her fingers to her swollen lips, and I think she made an epiphany or a resolve at that very moment, because she gave me her best smile. It wasn't fake. I didn't need my dead fish eyes to know that.

"Then what happens," I asked her, "After I kiss you goodnight. Do I leave?"

"No," Haruno said. Her voice his husky and wanting and I already know the answer. It is just a formality to ask her, I think. But no. I want her to say it and I want myself to listen. But Haruno, can be vague when she wants to be, and she is particularly vague when she's shy or nervous. One word is all I get from her. Well, I can return the favour.

"No?" I just repeated what she said, but I phrased it like a question.

We were at an impasse. She had to go for it. Haruno knew this. There was no going back. She needed to find the courage. I tugged her arm, pulled her close, wrapped her in a tight hug. But she needed to be the one to get the words out. I kissed the side of her chin, left a trail of kissed on the column of her throat. I was close. My mouth was on hers, my breath on her lips. We could kiss and kiss again. But this had to go somewhere. We had wasted enough time.

"Haruno, please." I begged, against her mouth, "Say it. Please."

Haruno brushes her lips against mine, takes whatever courage she can from me, and then she says those words, that I had been dying to listen, forever "After you kiss me goodnight, you try to leave." She holds me close, so very close. Her next are only for me. They are poured directly into my ears. I shiver, when I feel her lips tug on my earlobe, "But I don't let you leave. I invite you in."

Our final words are said to one another while looking directly into the others eye.

"Then what happens?" I asked her. My hands are on her hips. I am holding her possessively.

"We spend the night together," Haruno said, smiling up at me. Her arms are slung over my shoulders. "We make love. All night long." She murmurs those words into my mouth.

"Sounds like a plan." I said to her, right then and for the first time, I know this can be real. We can be real, we can make it, together. This 'us', she talked about, it can really happen. I have an understanding. We have an understanding.

The rest of the world can just go screw itself.

-/-/-/-

A/N: First off I want to thank a lot of people: 502nickster, ZeroDarkNex14, Flash Falcon, Guest, PrinceOfDesTiny, RedCide47, OsteoPoro, The Quotable Patella, GioMM, MyPillow, fluffpenguin and all the other reviewers, who told me they still had faith in this story, when I had lost faith in myself. Thank you for trusting me, and for all the good advice and for telling me the honest truth. I am dedicating this chapter to all of you.

Now to all the people I let down, I like to say I am sorry. Every one of you is right. I messed up the Haruno arc. It was fun at first and I wanted to play with the characters a bit, but I got carried away. The multiverse concept was a mess and I should have come at it differently. I realise my mistake now. And I am so extremely sorry! But, I am trying to undo the damage.

But this chapter was possible because of the multiverse idea.

It takes place in the " **Artificially Sound Universe.** " See? I am killing two birds with one stone. In essence it's like I am writing for two stories. But, it's still too soon. I have to deliver on the " **LEMON** ". I will write it next Sunday.

Also, until I sort out this story and fix all the problems, I won't be giving any more options to vote on for the next chapter. I am sorry. Again.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams.


	57. Chapter 57 The Haruno Arc(Redone)Part 2

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 57: The Haruno Arc Part II (Universe 12235360)

Nothing is easy, nothing is simple.

"I will come back soon," Haruno said, forlornly. Her hand was cradling my face, her fingers caressing my cheek and her taste was fresh on my lips. "I wish we could head straight back to my apartment, right at this very moment, but I don't want to take any more unnecessary risks than I have to. I hope you understand, Hachiman."

I nodded, "I do." The very thought of having to let her go was off-putting. My dominant arm was wrapped around her waist, fingers slowly caressing the small of her back and sending sweet, shivers up her spine. "We have to be careful, always on our guard, wary of other people. I don't intend to cause you any more trouble than I already have, Haruno-san."

Haruno looked up, her eyes scrutinizing me, "And what trouble have you caused me, Hachiman?"

The moment of truth, "I made you love me, Haruno-san."

A deadening, deafening, defeating silence greeted me and then the clarity and summation of everything hit me in the face like a ton of bricks. Haruno was talking again and I was listening to her every word.

"You shouldn't talk about things, you don't know about, Hikigaya-kun. It would be unwise of you to grow presumptuous of yourself and your opinions about me, at this point of time. You see, you didn't do anything." Ah, I can see the 'demoness of deceit' pushing through her loving face: golden flecks spattering across her eyes, a nasty scowl spreading over her lips, her elegant brows knitting in an overbearing frown. "You didn't make me love you, Hikigaya Hachiman. You could never make me love you. I don't think it's even possible for you to make me do anything, let alone make me fall in love with someone." The demoness of deceit was a cruel mistress. She couldn't be bought or bullied or leveraged into an understanding. She was a force of nature: untameable, indestructible, amoral.

The monster of logic liked her immediately. "If not me, then who, Yukinoshita Haruno-san?" The only question to be asked which led to another question and yet more questions, while already knowing, there would never be an answer, which wasn't tainted, with a little bit of lie.

The demoness smiled and the monster found it endearing, "Why me of course!" The demoness of deceit replied with a flourish, her smile widening, looking almost predatory and the monster could smell her sweet scent in the air.

It was intoxication, like her voice, her confidence, her exuberance. Of course, like the demoness said. Was there even a doubt? No! Monster of Logic, remember? But the monster wanted to listen to her speak his tongue, explain to him everything, logically.

"Oh really?" The monster spoke in a soft, soothing voice. He pulled her close, closer than was particularly necessary, for such a stream of thought. There was enough room for her to leave, but the demoness only moved closer and wrapped herself around him further, "Care to enlighten me on this, Yukinoshita-san."

The demoness clicked her tongue playful. Her arms were wrapped around him, pulling him to her level, making him meet her eyes, dead on. Her voice was silk. "You silly, silly man. Playing the fool, only to watch me shine in all my glory. Like I always say, you are interesting." She stood on her tiptoes and gently licked the underside of his jaw. The monster shivered in anticipation, almost losing focus, but he listened to her every word and counted her each and every breath, hot and thick and needy, on his skin, marred with goose bumps from her close proximity. "You didn't make me fall in love with you, Hikigaya Hachiman. I did. It was my decision. All mine. No one else's. I picked you. I chose you. I want you. No! Let me make this perfectly clear for the monster of logic, you silly, silly boy. Listen close and listen carefully. Because I will only say this once: I. Love. You." The monster found her logic unique and it made him treasure her almost like the idiot 'Hikigaya Hachiman'. "And I don't care whether you love me back or not. For me, only my feelings matter and no one else's. Not even yours. I don't expect you to love me back, I don't expect to turn this into a habit and I don't expect this to last in the near future. But right now, at this very moment, at this very instant, I can say, without as shred of doubt that I am in love with you. And if I love you, I just do."

The monster of logic listened, watched, held her close and then dipped his face to her level. Their noses were almost touching, their hot, heavy breaths mingling in the air, their lips mere seconds apart from tasting each other.

The kiss was quick and swift and brutal: The Monster and The Demoness coming together, taking charge of the situations, solving matters with their own hands. "Both of us said 'I do' at least once in our conversation, Haruno-san." The monster of logic spoke evenly, "If we had the inclination to be anywhere near futile romanticism, I would have made a comment on how, this might foreshadow our impending marriage."

"And if I was Yukino-chan, I would have blushed and made a comment on how, you are more interested in the honeymoon than the marriage." The demoness of deceit spoke evenly too, "Luckily I am not my little sister, so I know what will happen and what won't happen and what will never happen. This is not the genuine you are searching for is it, Hikigaya-kun?" Her eyes, speckled in a band of gold, spoke volumes.

The monster held her gaze and held her close, "No, it isn't." His eyes grew deader by the second. "I knew it from the very beginning. Realised it the very first time, I felt anywhere close to any kind of affection for you. Like you, I also know what this is and what this isn't and what it can never be."

"Then why do you choose to suffer." The demoness growled, her fingers, tightening around the short hair at the back of his neck, exposing the column of his throat and the underside of his jaw for her tongue to taste, "Why do you keep searching for this genuine elsewhere, when you know its waiting for you back at your precious service club. Just say to them the words, you will never say to me. Just do it. Do it!"

"I love you." I said.

"Yes that! Say it to one of the girls…"

The rest of her words, her tirade, her rant, were swallowed wholly by my lips. Her voice trailed off and she tangled her fingers in my hair and I dipped her, gently back, my hands holding her steady and pulling her closer to me at the same time.

"I love you, Haruno." I repeated, tugging her lips open and exploring her insides, "I love you." I said again. Me. Not the Monster of Logic. Although, he is also fond of Haruno in his own away. It's the same with the demoness of deceit and me, I think. She thinks I am interesting and to her it's good enough. I don't know why, but maybe our monsters and demons have a better understanding of us then we do of ourselves. It should be a little disconcerting, but it isn't and that is one less thing to worry about.

"…You don't mean it, Hachiman," Haruno is trying to say, but her voice keeps getting chocked. She should really be focusing on kissing me back and nothing else, but I like the sound of her breathy moans and the press of her mouth against mine. The words are mumbled and garbled, but still understandable, especially when they are muttered over my lips, "You are just saying it to make me feel better. But, like I said, you don't have to-"

I silenced her negative thoughts with a kiss. Not letting her speak should be considered rude, but she can bite me in the tongue if she thinks I am annoying her. I am practically shoving my tongue down her throat and by the eagerness of her, I think she doesn't plan on biting me. Well at least not on my tongue, I mean. "I know what you are doing, Hachiman," Haruno tries again, mustering up some remnant annoyance from our past. "Don't think I, Oh God! Mm~"But then she shudders and moans, and all the frigidness leaves her frame and she is left hanging onto my shoulders for balance, "You are tr-ying- Oh God!- t-to distract me by kissing. It won't work nmm~" Well, it's a pity her body and mind has different ideas about this. Not that I am complaining. Not at all. I am glad, that she can talk and kiss and make those delicious sounds, all at the same time.

"Of course." I mumble against her lips, kissing her again, this time brushing against her lower lip, and holding onto her face with both my hands. "Who am I to distract the great, Yukinoshita Haruno?"

"No one…" Haruno giggles against my lips and then she places both her hand onto my cheeks and pulls my face close to hers, so close that I know she can see her reflection in my rotten dead fish eyes. "…except the boy she loves." Even then, I know her reflection would be beautiful.

We take a moment, we blush a deeper shade of red but we stand close, our hands wrapped around one another, savouring this moment, picturing it, taking it into our memory, knowing this is just transience. Not everlasting.

"I love you, Haruno" This is the third time I am saying this and this is the third time she is choosing not to believe me. She is looking at me with that sad expression in her eyes and I know for a fact that she had locked her demoness back in its cage as punishment for revealing the truth. There are no more golden flecks spattered around her eyes. She is now just Haruno: the girl, the ideal, the person afraid to love because she knows it won't last.

"You don't have to say it back, Hachiman." Haruno is trying to look at me in the eye while she is saying this, but she is failing miserably. "I am sorry I told you that. I didn't mean to tell you. It was supposed to be a secret. Only for me to know. And no one else." She gives up and hangs her head in shame, "I am sorry, Hachiman. I wish I could take it back, but I can't. " This time she gathers her courage and looks me in the eye. "I love you, Hachiman" And this time around, the words are spoken by Haruno, the woman I am coming to love and not the demoness of deceit. She knows, how much this means to her, how much this means to me and I am glad she is brave enough to say it. "But, you don't have to love me back." But this last sentence keeps bothering me.

"I will say it a thousand times, if I have to Haruno-san," I retort, angrily, "I love you. I love you. I-"

"Okay! Stop! I get it. God you are so~" Whatever I am, guess I will never know, because Haruno is smiling again and it's a goofy smile. It looks strange at first, but then I blink and now I can't picture her without that smile. She makes every smile her own and for the first time, I think, I am liking this about her. Earlier it was an arsenal in her tool kit to manipulate people. But when she smiles, "You look breathtaking when you smile, Haruno-san." There is no need for secrets like these anymore. Now that the truth is out, there should be no place for secrets like this. I also, "I love how you blush to Haruno-san." I am really the worst. I know I shouldn't be enjoying this so much, but I can't help it.

"Okay, alright! You had your fun with the lovey-dovey onee-san," Haruno pouts, and then she clears her throat and looks at me with a coy smile on her face, "And I believe you, Hachiman." Oh, she's not getting away that easy, after all the stuff she did earlier.

"Believe what Haruno-san?" I ask playfully, "I think the last kiss seems to have affected my brain function a bit. You have to dumb it down a little you know. Use smaller, easier words and try refraining the more complex and difficult words for later."

"Careful Hachiman," Haruno said, playfully as well, "I told you before. I think I love your brain more than you, sometimes. If anything happens to your brain, then nothing is happening between us." But then she smiled, "But I have been wrong before. Maybe I love you a little more than your brain now. Be thankful, it isn't the other way around."

"Yeah, I think I read somewhere that a guy stole Einstein's brain and carried it around in a mason jar. I can easily picture you pulling off something like that, Haruno-san." I said good naturedly.

"And you would still love me?" Ah, so this was going somewhere. I should have known.

"Yes. I would." I replied, looking her in the eye, pressing her closer to my body and kissing her on the lips again.

"Have I told you, how interesting you are, Hachiman," Haruno replied breathily, against my lips.

"Only a thousand times, Haruno-san," I replied smoothly, against her skin "But tell me more."

"I think, you don't plan on making me talk, Hachiman." Haruno said, softly, her hands gently grasping my shoulders for better balance.

"Only if you sprout nonsense like before." I mumble softly, "You didn't believe me when I said I love you. Who does that? Did you think I was lying to you? Better yet, did you think, you wouldn't catch me, if I was lying to you, Haruno-san." I asked, reverently.

For the first time, Haruno looked confused. The finger she brought up to my lips said everything, "But this isn't genuine." Oh that look. She was hurting, hurting so bad and it was all because of me. "You said so yourself. This thing. With us- me, my, I mean our love! It's-" It broke my heart and I cursed the monster of logic for hurting her like this. "-It's not genuine. You said so yourself. Was it a lie, Hachiman?" Haruno always made it a habit to ask the most brutal of questions at the most importune times. It was her way of being sure of the situation.

I wish I could lie. I really could. "No, I didn't lie, Haruno-san." But Haruno deserves better. And maybe I do too. "This isn't genuine. Or at least I don't think it is. Not yet anyway. Perhaps, maybe never. There is no guarantee, no safety net. Only the unknown and it's scary. I am afraid of it sometimes." I take a hold of her hand and squeeze to relieve myself of the worries, "But right now, I am not afraid. I am nervous. I am nervous as hell. But I am not afraid of this, of us, of our love." I give her a small peck on the cheek and look deep into her eyes, trying to fathom their depths. The last few words almost killed me. But I am still breathing, my heart is still breathing and Haruno is still with me. So, I find the courage to speak, speak from the depths of my rotten, shrivelled heart and let her know everything.

There was a time, when it didn't matter what I thought, because I thought only about myself. But times change. I changed. I am still Hikigaya Hachiman, but now, what I think matters, because now I don't only think about myself. And so, I needed to tell Haruno what I think. "Haruno," She turned to me and I felt a little bit of my courage deplete. But I had to say this to her. Then it was upto her, "I can't promise you anything. I can't guarantee whether this is genuine or not. But there is one thing I can tell you for sure and it's the absolutely truth." I tilt her face upwards and say the next words against her mouth, "This isn't fake."

"Thank you," Haruno replies back, "I needed to hear it. You don't know how much-"

"I know. Believe me, I know," I mumble across her lips and I really should be focussing on kissing her some more, "I want this to be real too. I want this so much, Haruno."

"Me too." Haruno replies and the rest of her words are swallowed by my lips.

This should be a little awkward, kissing in my private spot, in the school ground, where every day, I have my lunch, all by my lonesome. But it isn't and I am glad. Although, I don't think I will ever be able to eat my lunch over here again. This place, this spot had transformed into something else. It's now the spot where I had my first kiss. Knowing myself, I am sure by rotten brain will lock this moment into some dark corner. It will always be there. Never forgotten. And I am okay with it.

"Maybe, maybe" Like I said before, kissing and holding an intellectual conversation is difficult. But I seem to be getting better at this. Better at both I mean, "Maybe the genuine I am searching for isn't meant to be loved."

Haruno touched her swollen lips, but I knew she was listening, "I don't follow."

"Okay, give me a moment," I tried to compose myself. Try being the operative word. It's difficult to focus on philosophy, when your body is more interested in biology and your mind is knee deep in erotic muck, "Okay, um. What I am trying to say is, maybe what I call genuine isn't meant to be loved. It's true to myself, right? It about me. And I was never about love. Well at least not like this, in a romantic sense I mean. Ergo, if the genuine isn't meant to be loved, than love isn't meant to be genuine."

Haruno looked completely confused, "You are saying you can never genuinely fall in love. That's needlessly pessimistic and also kinda dumb."

I furrowed my brows, "'Needlessly pessimistic and kinda dumb'-My life in a nutshell."

Haruno shook her head, "Never change, Hikigaya-kun. No matter what the world tells you." She smiled fondly at me, and here I was questioning myself.

"I don't intend to." I replied, trying to act cool

"Good," Haruno leaned in close and gave me a small peck on the lips. Before I could deepen the kiss, she pulled back and I could see the expression on her face. It spoke volumes. "Give me your hand, Hachiman."

I raised my hand, palms facing upwards. Meanwhile, Haruno had started digging into her purse, fumbling with the contents and muttering to herself.

"It's like it has a mind of its own," Haruno mumbled, mostly to herself.

"What are you looking for, Haruno-san." I asked, curiously.

But she didn't need to answer my question. I saw it the very moment she took it out from her purse. Haruno looked at me and gave me a small coy smile. I was starting to love this smile to. I don't know what else I might love about her. But her smiles are the best, "This is a key to my apartment, Hachiman." Haruno said, while she tenderly placed the said object into my open palm. "My parents have one."After she put it there, she neatly took a hold of most of my fingers and made me make a fist around the key. "Yukino-chan has one. And Shizuka-chan has one." The implication was clear. She doesn't go around giving keys to everyone she knows. They have to be special, like her sister, like the only teacher who ever gave a damn about her and now him- the guy she loves.

"I, um," I was at a loss of words. "Thank you. I will up keep it safe."

Haruno giggled and now I could she her regain some of her playfulness, "No, I want you to use it." The heated look she sent me made me blush, "Tonight, Hachiman." Now she is blushing too and it's just wonderfully awkward.

"I understand." I could have used other words, phrased it differently, could have been more clear about this too, and she shouldn't have a problem with this. I wouldn't have a problem with it too, I think. Given the choice, we would never say it aloud. We are both terrified of the word. We just said 'I love you' to one another. And I think it's a bit too soon to say 'I want to have sex with you too'.

"I will see you tonight?" I phrased it like a question, because it really is. The most important question we will ask, now that we know that we love each other. This will be it, I think. This is the 'yes' and 'no' question and I try to tell myself that I am not holding my breath until she answers.

"Yeah, I guess," Haruno blushes. But then she regains some of her previous hauteur "Don't keep me waiting, Hachiman." And there is the woman I know and love.

"Wouldn't dream of it." I tell her.

"Yeah, I know" The teasing tone is back in her voice and I don't mind it at all, because I know this is how she copes, with all the anxiety and tension, that will keep plaguing her until I reach her apartment. "You will be dreaming about something else, entirely. Something scandalous I bet, about a certain, sexy onee-san. I wonder who it could be." Haruno continues, tapping her index finger against her chin, in a faux thinking pose.

I decide to play along, "Well, since I have Japanese literature next, I think it will be Hiratsuka sensei."

Haruno pouts, "You are so mean. Besides, Shizuka-chan is too old to be an onee-san."

I chuckle, "Don't let her hear that."

"I won't." Haruno smiles, beautifully.

We laugh, we make plans, and we say our goodbyes.

In the end, life was never meant to be lived on our own terms. They had been set: preordained, predetermined, doomed. Never waiting, never giving a chance; not even allowing us to catch up. We run. We run after it like the devil is chasing us. But life passes through, slips between our fingers and before we get a chance to catch our breath, the moment is gone. Vanished into thin air: Poof!

I don't want that and neither does she. But we are too afraid to love, to afraid to be selfish. Yet, one of us has to try. Haruno is the braver person and she never ceases to surprise me.

"Hachiman," It was time for her to leave. She has given me the key to her home and if I were romantically inclined, I would say she has given me the key to her heart. Maybe she did. Maybe she didn't. It doesn't matter as much as I though it should.

"Yes, Haruno-san." The goodbye kiss is bitter sweet at best. We haven't done this before. It's like a new ritual of sort. It's new and it will take some time getting used to, but for now, we take what comfort we can, in that farewell hug of ours. I try not to hold her so close to me and fail miserably.

Haruno is talking in a very timid voice. It's slow and barely audible, but I can hear the guilt in her voice, "Can you skip the service club for today?" She asks, and this is the first time I realise, how much she wants this, how much she wants me, and how difficult this could be for her.

"I wasn't planning on going anyways, Haruno-san." And it's true. Any plan I had for visiting the club, were dashed from my brain the moment we kissed. It felt wrong and I know it shouldn't but it does.

"I-" Haruno was trying to say something. But she doesn't want to. She really doesn't. But then she puts on a brave face and smiles even though, I know she should be crumbling inside "I love you, Hachiman." Haruno is a strong woman and I love her for her strength. It's one of the things which makes her so much more different than her younger sister. I know I shouldn't compare the two, I know it's wrong, but I have the monster of logic in me and it poison me with truth.

"I love you too, Haruno-san," If we are to kill ourselves by our own hands, "See you tonight." Then at least, we should get to pick our own poison.

Enough said.

-/-/-/-

A/N: Wishing everyone a Merry, Lemon-free, Christmas!

I am dedicating this chapter to 'fluffpenguin' for his sound advice.

There needed to me something more official between them. So in this chapter I tried a few things: 'The monster of logic' and 'the demoness of deceit' finally meet. Haruno and Hachiman say they love each other. Multiple times over. But it isn't genuine. Now I know this isn't what you probably expected, but this is as official as they can get.

Please remember that this Haruno Arc takes place in the **"Artificially Sound Universe"** I mean it has the word 'Artificial' in the title. So, it will be a little vague.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter

Leave lots and lot of review, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams.

-/-/-/-


	58. Chapter 58 The Haruno Arc (Redone)Part 3

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 58: Haruno Arc Part III (Universe 12235360)

The dark shadows came in to welcome the fallen evening. The lights of the distant street lamps warmed the empty pavements, running beside the vacant roads. The locked doors, the curtained windows and the lack of neighbours, told a winter's tale. A cold wind blew, clearing a swarm of clouds and the moonlight shined through. I stood away from its silver glimmer, garbed in the guise of the night and walked ahead with purpose. Tonight, each road I take, every turn I make, they would all lead me to her: her home, her arms, her bed.

The key she gave me serves a purpose. I keep it safe. I keep it in by shirt pocket, over my beating heart and the cold, metallic feel of even this tiny object, gives me courage, give me hope; makes me want to be better. If I could be what she wanted, if I could be who she needed; all the time, then nothing else would matter. But it does and it will. So close, yet so apart; couldn't be much more from the heart. But in the end it doesn't even matter.

I take the final few steps in a hurry. Her apartment looms like a mirage, materialising out of thin air, in this cold, suburban landscape. I see the welcome mat in the front of her main door and it seems to be mocking me like it did the last time, I was here.

Back then I had the audacity to step on its forbidden figure without permission. But I lacked the courage to walk over it and head inside, into the warm domicile and partake in the pleasant hospitality, which would have been generously, afforded to me by the mistress of this mansion.

Back then it wasn't meant to be. We left things like they were, brushed them under the welcome mat and lived to tell the tale. We just turned and made a run for it. But it wore her out. It wore me out too. I can't help but get the feeling. This is me, this is her. It's not genuine. Yet, here I am, ready to break down the doors, pull down the walls, and blow up the ceilings, of my very existence, of everything which, make me, _me._

The cold, metallic key weighs heavily in the front of my shirt pocket. The large oak doors shun me and my very presence in this neighbourhood. But I can see the bright, warm lights, shining through the window panes, leaving a round, innocent patch of radiance on the moist, dew soaked grass. The door might be locked, but I have the key to open it. I didn't take it from her, I didn't ask for it; it was given to me. Now I see, the curtains are not even drawn tonight. I am welcome here, I am wanted here. Haruno wants me, Haruno loves me. She said so herself.

And it's poor manners to keep a girl waiting.

The key works, the door unlocks and I walk in. I leave the rest of the world behind, try to rid myself of the thought plaguing me and I take a cursory look inside the fabled dwellings, while in the process of taking off my shoes and shutting the door behind me, with a much needed push in the right direction; how very like me.

"Sorry for the intrusion, Haruno-san."

I find her sitting on a couch, with a book in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. She is also wearing a set of red, rimless spectacles and I can see a pair of bunny slippers, peeking, from below the coffee table. There are two sets of remote lying on top of the coffee table and judging by the number of empty DVD cases strewn across the glass surface of the table, I could venture a guess and say, I just interrupted her television viewing pleasures for the night.

"Watching re-runs of old anime?" I ask playfully. I cannot see the cover from where I am standing right now, so I start moving towards her. This seems to be the biggest room of her apartment. It's more than a bit spacious and the couch, she is currently occupying, is in the very middle of the room. There are a few pieces of other furniture, sitting primly at every adjacent corner, to accommodate numerous guests, when she has to play the part of a host. There are various decorations, scattered across the white, marble floors, draped over the stylish walls, hanging from the imposing ceiling, of her living room.

And in the middle of all this glitz and glamour, all this pomp and show, all this forged and fake replicas and identities of the world, created for her without her permission, there sits the woman I love: A reflection in a glass house.

"No! I, um," Haruno blushes, grows flustered and her observing eyes take in several things: the television screen, the empty DVD cases, both the remotes, and me. However, it seems like she is gauging the distance between me and her. Before I could take this into account, she made a split decision and took a hold of the remote and turned off the television set.

I frowned, "You didn't have to turn it off Haruno-san. I don't mind. Hell, maybe if it's something interesting, then I can join you on the couch and we can watch it together."

"I will keep that mind," She blushes a darker shade of red, bites her lips, hesitates for a second and then makes up her mind. She shakes her head vigorously, "Th-there's no need for it now. M-maybe later. When we are a bit more c-comfortable."

"Okay, then." A stuttering Haruno-san is a cute Haruno-san. I am not even taking into account the bunny slippers and the cute, strawberry coloured spectacles.

The clothes she chose to wear this evening- for tonight-it goes completely against the image of 'The Yukinoshita-san' I know. But then again, this is the Haruno-san I am coming to love. Her dress for the evening comprised of a simple, rectangular neckline, a cute, circular pair of cap sleeves encased her shoulders, and a meek, modest skirt, whose hemline, bunched ceremoniously, over her glorious thighs, made her the perfect woman of my dreams. She gave me a small, almost a little misbalanced twirl, to show off her outfit for the evening, "H-How do I look?" Haruno asked, blushing.

"…Breathtaking." I said, in complete awe of her beauty.

"No one has ever said that to me before," Haruno's blush worsened. She was turning to a deeper shade of red, "It's always beautiful and gorgeous and hot and sexy and…" her voice trailed off and she tried to evade my eyes, clearly embarrassed.

"Well, you know me," I gave an awkward laugh at both our expense, "Needless sophistry at its finest." I was walking towards her, taking sure and certain steps. She was waiting for me, to take my place beside her on the sofa cushion. Now only the coffee table was in the way. But it won't be soon. I will be with her in no time, taking her into my arms, touching her, caressing her, kissing her. Maybe doing something more, something bolder, something both of us want. Really, really want.

"Did you mean it?" Haruno asked, uncertainty tainting her voice, "Do I really look breathtaking?" She looked vulnerable, open like the book currently lying forgotten on her lap and I gradually realise this is important to her; so much more important than any other girl.

"Yes, you do. You take my breath away." I gently lower myself down on the couch, taking my rightful seat beside her and reach for her hand. She readily offers herself to me, seeking comfort from my touch and trying to search for the truth in my words.

I offer them up to her without asking, because for once, I can find comfort in the truth, "I love you, Haruno." The words send a pleasant ripple between us. It's not the first time I have said this to her, confessed my feeling to her by using mere words. But words are not enough. They are never enough.

We are both standing on the edge of the cliff, holding onto each other for support. The plunge is inevitable. Our inexperience is suffocating, stiffening. We kiss, we touch, we hold each other close. This should have been enough. But like everyone else we want more. We deserve this little piece of heaven.

"…ed." Haruno showed courage. She always does. But the words are faint, almost inaudible. She is in my arms, her face is buried in the crook of my neck and her arms are holding onto my shoulders for support. "…ta-take," I wish I could have seen her like this before. "…m-me." But then again I would have thought I had gone completely crazy, if back then, Haruno-san, said something like this during one of our talks. "…b-bed." I would possibly think she slipped something into my drink. "Take me to bed, Hachiman." She has courage, she has strength and now, she has me.

We denied ourselves to even think of intimacy, we deprived ourselves to express the most platonic of feelings, and we wilfully stopped ourselves, starved ourselves of love. We gave ourselves a touch, a taste, a feel of one another. But it didn't sate our huger. It only helped us become more ravenous.

… 'The couch seemed more than adequate when the bed seemed so far way.' The monster of logic whispered, from the back of my mind. I thought I would never have the courage to say something like this aloud, but then again, I also didn't imagine any of this happening to me. "The bed can wait," I murmured against her skin, "I. Want. You. Now." I enunciated each word, said them against her lips, between soft kisses and gentle caresses.

Always knew I had a way with words. There was a look in her eyes, the way her lips quivered, the way her tongue flicked out and moistened her lips, it made me unhinged. The last coherent words uttered between us were spoken by her. Haruno had poured them into my ears like honey: "Then take me, Hachiman"

"Goddamn you, Haruno!" I sink into her skin, knee deep, neck deep, drowning in her essence. Raising my hand, I brush them over her scalp, before tangling my fingers in her short, dark hair. This gives me the leverage I need to tilt her head sideways and expose her lips, her neck, her chin to the explorations of my lips. But I want more. A simple taste is no longer fulfilling. I bite down. Hard. Her lips are pried open, willingly. A sharp, husky moan is drawn from them. I swallow her breath, her every moan from then on, slip my tongue in, lick her teeth.

I memorize her taste. I learn the feel of her body on mine. I commit to memory the love I see in her eyes. I know this won't last. She does too. This isn't genuine. We aren't meant to be. In the end, we will lose. But despite everything…

Tonight is ours for the taking.

-/-/-/-

A/N: Goddammit! I was almost caught writing this at work. Hence the hasty end to the chapter. That would be a funny story to tell my next employer. 'So, why were you fired from your previous job?' 'Sir I was caught writing a lemon.' Anyway, learned my lesson. Never writing stuff at work again. Never. **By the way: In case you didn't know 'The Haruno Lemon' starts from here. The next chapter will be full lemon! So change the rating to 'M' while searching for this story.**

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of review, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams


	59. Chapter 59 The Haruno Arc Part IV

Don't Own Oregairu

Warning: Penultimate chapter.

Chapter 59: The Haruno Arc Part IV (Universe 12235360)

Haruno moved closer, balancing on her knees, hands reaching out and grabbing onto me for support. I watched her every move, drinking in the oozing eroticism of her movements. She was down on all fours, almost crawling towards me. Playfully moistening her lips, suggestively raising her hips, and unintentionally, jostling her breasts, Haruno eyed the vacant spot, made inside the twined circle of my legs, aiming to position herself in my lap. She sought comfort in my arms and found a semblance of peace at hearing my heartbeat. It beats for her now. She tilted her head sideways, placing her ears on my chest, and listened to my beating heart for over a minute.

"Your heart is beating really fast." Haruno said, her lips brushing over the fabric of my shirt, almost making me hate this innocent piece of clothing, for depriving me of the luxury of her kisses and touches upon my covered torso.

"Yeah," I succumbed to her, lowering my walls, disregarding my inhibitions, making myself vulnerable and liable to get hurt. "I think it might beat out of my chest."

"Can't have that," Haruno joked, "We don't want the world knowing you actually have a heart. They might look at you differently. They might admire you more, fall in love with you more often," She is not a nice girl, I reminded myself. "Or make you fall in love with one of them. Make you be someone else, make you pretend, be different, force you to change for them." She understands me and I understand her. "Never change, Hachiman. Not even for me."

Furthermore, I am no longer in middle school, "I won't. I promise." I am in my third year in Sobu High and I like to believe I have learnt from my past mistakes. I know this is not genuine and I am fine with it. I have made progress.

She was touching me everywhere; caressing my cheeks, stroking the underside of my jaw, patting the back of my head. I gradually came to the slow realisation that Haruno was out of her depths. She didn't know what to do with her hands.

Her right hand ran around my shoulders, rubbing my back in a soothing manner, while she drew lazy circles on my torso, using the index finger of her left hand. Haruno was restless, twitching and fidgeting, walking on the very edge of her entire existence, rebelling against her insecurities and trying to fight back her decade long upbringing. Even then her ears were pressed over my chest, still listening to my beating heart.

"It's beating quicker now." Haruno replied.

"I know," I looked into her eyes. "It beats for you now."

"So does mine," Haruno murmured softly, "My love."

The cushion sunk lower, adjusting to both our weights. She nestled herself deeper in my lap and finally, found a new purpose for both her hands. Her right hand was placed on top of my shoulders for balance and her left hand was used to tilt my face upwards to meet her gaze.

I saw her breathe through her nose. It was meant to calm her, make her appear more composed and less nervous. I watched her eyelids flutter. Most people close their eyes while they initiate a kiss with the person they love. Haruno is no different. Neither am I. I felt our noses brush accidentally. It was cute. It was funny. I felt her smile on my lips.

We kissed.

We wanted this. We wanted this so very much. Earlier in the day, when we had shared our first kiss- our first, proper kiss on the lips, I mean- I had the strength to watch her leave. It hurt. It hurt both of us. We just couldn't take this anymore. We couldn't hold on much longer.

I couldn't turn back. I couldn't stop kissing her, tasting her, feeling her: her lips, her tongue, her arms, her hands, her fingers, her ankles, her legs, her thighs. She kissed me back with equal fervour, twining her arms around my shoulder, tangling her fingers in my hair. My hands ran up her spine, sending pleasant shudders all through her body, making her arch her back and forcing her to hold onto me for support. Her breathy moans, her sharp intakes of breath, mingled well, with my grunts of pleasure and ragged breathing. The fabric of her dress was getting wrinkled. My wayward fingers were to blame. After traversing the length of her back, they slid over her shoulders, down her elbows and then skipped over to the small of her back, inching lower. She wore a skirt. I forgot; disaster: My hands brushed across new skin, bare skin, her bare hips clad in only panties.

I jerked back, removing my hand from her hips and my sudden movements jostled her, almost made her lose her balance. She was on my lap, we were sitting on the sofa, making out. But there was a coffee table kept right next to us. The table top was made of glass. I was scared. Haruno would get hurt. She could lose her balance, fall on top of the coffee table, break the glass surface and cut herself, bleed to death. No! I had to keep her safe. I had to keep her close.

So, I pulled her closer, grasped her hips and heaved her over. Haruno hadn't expected it. The abruptness of my action surprised her. Her fingers, already tangled in my hair, managed to yank a few weak stray pieces of hair, away from my scalp and made me yelp like a hurt puppy.

"Ow!" I cried.

"Oh sorry!" Haruno exclaimed.

Haruno thought she had hurt me more severely. She didn't know it was just some useless bit of hair. But she had a guilty look in her eyes and I saw her moving back, disentangling herself, extracting herself from me. No! I couldn't.

"Haruno! Wait!" I almost screamed.

"I hurt you," Haruno shouted, "I am sorry! I lost control and I didn't see you move. Or expected you to pull me like, like-"

"-like a caveman." I offered

"What! No!" Haruno shouted. She looked away, evading my eyes and blushed. "I kinda liked it. Sitting on top of you. It reminded me of something I just saw."

"You just saw?" I asked, curious, "What did you see?"

"What?" Haruno looked puzzled for a second. Then realization dawned; followed by embarrassment, "No-nothing, Hachiman. I-I am um, talking nonsense. Haha! Please ignore me." She looked slightly uneasy. Once again, her eyes darted towards the television set. It was still turned off. Her face relaxed a little. Then her eyes fell on the remotes and the numerous DVD cases lying on top of her coffee table. Her eyes even went to the forgotten book, now, lying upturned on the floor. It was close to my leg. Her eyes were fixed to the spot.

"Oh. Do you, um, want this book?" I asked awkwardly. Haruno looked mortified. She made a confusing gesture- half nodding, half shaking her head. It confused me a little. Without thinking much about her behaviour, I reached down and swiped the book from the floor. "Here you go, Haruno-san." I said, noticing for the first time, the dull, dark cover and the words emboldened at the front. "Is this an instruction manual or something?" The words were in English, but I don't think the language was English, "Does this have anything to do with the TV or the empty DVD cases, Haruno-san?" She was not looking at me at the moment. In fact, I was sure she was looking at the book dangling between my fingers. By the look of her face, I could tell she wanted to take this from me at the earliest.

However, I didn't expect her to lunge at me like a freaking kunoichi!

"What are you doing? Have you lost your mind?" I shrieked, moving back.

"No! I am perfectly fine! Thank you for asking, Hachiman!" Haruno replied, blushing. "Just give me the damn book and we can return to making out on the sofa. Oh I knew this was stupid! What was I thinking? You were coming over, we were gonna spend the night together. Have sex! But I had to be myself about this, didn't I? I wanted it to be perfect. Oh stupid, stupid, stupid! Just give me the book, Hachiman." She half crawled, half clawed, half climbed on to me and this was not like before; what I mean to say is- not to sound childish or immature- but she was not being sensuous or seductive about this. Not that it mattered too much, but this was just a little weird. It was more like a game of keep-away, where I had become an unwitting participant. It was almost like I had gotten hold of her secret stash of…Wait. Rewind. Recap.

However, before I could catch my train of thought, Haruno had gotten a hold of her book. "Aha! Got you now!" She exclaimed triumphantly. But her triumph didn't last for long. "Waah!" She lost her balance and was about to roll over, fall off of my lap and straight on to the coffee table. She would get hurt, cut herself on the glass. No! I won't let it happen.

"Got you!" I exclaimed, wrapping both my arms securely around her waist, keeping her safe on the sofa, right in my lap, between the safe circle of my entwined legs. "I got you Haruno. You won't fall off. I won't let you drop. I won't let you go. You are safe." I ran my hand along her hair in a comforting manner. She held onto my shoulder for support, buried her face in the crook of my neck and I heard her shudder and take a ragged breath. She hadn't seen the danger of fooling around this close to a glass table. The novelty of the sofa would soon wear off. It was best to head inside, take her to bed like she originally wished. Like she desired.

"Maybe we should take this to-" The rest of the words died on my lips. I could feel her stiffen in my arms. But I didn't let go of her. Like I said, I wouldn't let go off her. Not now. I can't tell about the future, but definitely not now.

"You think I am a slut, don't you Hachiman?" Haruno spoke those words softly. "I don't blame you. After seeing this I would think I was a slut too. I don't know what came over me. I just wanted this to be perfect. I wanted our first time to be perfect! And wouldn't you know I went full 'Yukinoshita Haruno" over it." Unlike me, she had her face facing away from the general direction of the television set. "I ruined this, didn't I?" she asked me, timidly. I felt her clutching onto the fabric of my shirt with all her might.

"Um, I don't think so. No." I murmured. "I just didn't know couples did, um, this type of a thing, before um, making out or um, having sex. I assure you this is quite natural, Haruno-san. I have done, I mean I have watched stuff like this myself sometimes. But always alone. Not with someone else." My eyes now trailing back, tracing the steps back, trying to fathom the chain of events which led to the television set turning on, on its own. The culprit was the book. After our little tussle, Haruno had dropped it on top of the coffee table and it had fallen on top of the remote, which turned on the television.

"So you don't think I am a slut for watching porn, right?" Haruno asked. "I mean I was expecting you any moment. It was past evening. And, we were going to have sex tonight. But I was watching porn instead. Isn't that kind of bad?" She was still not looking at me. Instead she was talking to my chest, addressing my beating heart perhaps. "And I watched a lot. Just look at the number of DVDs. Oh I feel like such a slut. What was I thinking?"

"Okay then," I finally latched onto a good line of questioning, "What were you thinking, Haruno-san? Not that I mind or think you are wrong for watching porn. I definitely don't think you are a slut. But still I am curious about this?" I used a soft, comforting voice to ease her troubles, while I continued to run lazy, lethargic strokes down her back. She sighed to herself at my touch and relaxed in my arms. I think I made her feel a little better. "Also, why is there no sound coming from the television? Is it broken?"

"Of course not," Haruno mumbled. I could feel her lips brushing against the fabric of my shirt while she spoke in halting sentences, using smaller words. Oh I was going to hate this shirt soon. "I um, muted it."

"You muted it? Why did you do that, Haruno-san?" I asked. Confusion was clearly evident in my voice. Haruno was quite for a moment and then thin I felt hear open her mouth and murmur something against my shirt. Damn you shirt!

"…loud." It was the only word I picked up.

"Loud?" I asked again.

Haruno was quite again and this time I really thought she wouldn't grace me with a proper explanation. But like always, she managed to surprise me. "I was referring to the porn. It was being too loud. It was unnecessary and completely fake." I felt her adjust in my lap and pull my hands tighter around her waist, "I um, didn't like the way they talked too. The dialogue I mean. It was vile and filthy. I actually hated it the most. So I turned down the volume before I finally decided to mute it altogether."

"Um, okay. I think I understand." I couldn't believe I was having this conversation. "You don't like watching porn."

"No. I liked the options it gave me." Oh God! I don't wanna know. "I would have preferred it to be shot more like a silent film, you know? Like the Charlie Chaplin series. But instead of comedic genius, they would be pornographic brilliance."

"…Um, I think you just ruined a treasured memory from my childhood, Haruno-san."

"Oh, I am sorry. I like Charlie Chaplin, though. I think I have the entire collection. Do you want to watch it?"

"Um, right now?"

"…Maybe not. But sometime later."

I can't believe we are still talking. About this of all things! A moment ago, I was kissing the woman I loved. And now, in the very next moment, I am having a discussion-which sounds awfully like a legit movie review- regarding porn. Then we shifted to Charlie Chaplin somehow. Oh Chaplin-san. I am so sorry. Please forgive me. Truly, this can only happen to me: the one and only Hikigaya Hachiman.

I needed a new topic. I looked at the object lying on top of the remote. Well this should provide a wonderful distraction. After all, printed pages are the arch rivals of television media. "Um, Haruno-san, what was the book about? I thought I saw some English words in the front. But the language was definitely not English. It had a word. Um, 'Miller' I think." I definitely butchered the word.

"It's 'Meilleur'. It means 'Best' in French." Haruno replied, softly. I thought she would latch on to the new topic. But it seemed to have made matters a little worse. She gave an involuntary shudder, moving directly on top of my crotch and then wiggled her hips a little. I knew a distraction when I saw one. Or in this case felt one. But she was using her body to distract me, over an ordinary book and nothing else. This better contain nuclear codes. Or. Oh, don't tell me…

"It's a sex book isn't it?" I asked.

This time Haruno looked up. She was staring straight into my eyes. I could see a few drops accumulating in the corner of her eyes. Her cheeks were flushed a darker shade of red. I had never seen Haruno-san this embarrassed; this vulnerable.

"I only read the first couple of chapters. My French isn't really great like it once was. I mean I could understand what was written in the book. There were a few pictures and diagrams." Haruno felt like explaining herself; I don't know why. She just did. I rubbed her arms, her shoulders, her thighs, "…The book was okay. Better than watch porn. Guess I am into books like you, huh?" she asked, tucking her head below my jaw, nestling deeper into my chest.

"Yeah. Books" I murmured into her hair. "Um, please don't take this the wrong way, but um, is this book, and these DVDs, um, are they yours?"

"No!" Haruno shook her head furiously, "I borrowed them. The DVDs from Shizuka-chan and the book is from the library. And please don't ask which library. Please don't. I don't feel like thinking, least of all discussing, the idea behind finding this book in my father's personal library. I like to think my parents had me without sex. Thank you very much."

I scoffed. "Don't we all." This was good. Awkward conversation aside, we were talking, trying to compose ourselves and calm down. It was all for the better. I kept stroking my hands, up and down, her spine, soothing away her worries and Haruno kept rubbing lazy circles over my shirt. No I only had to do one more thing and we can get back to normal.

Without asking, I shifted, moved a little to the left and using my left hand I reached for the remote. I kept my other hand, wrapped around her waist, rubbing the small of her back, accidentally brushing against the swell of her hips on a few occasions. Haruno didn't mind. She would have told me by now. In fact, I heard her sigh languidly and ease into me, almost moulding her entire body over mine.

"What are you doing, Hachiman?" Haruno asked. She had felt it shift and the absence of his other arm from her waist was obviously noticeable. "Where is your other hand? I want both your hands. Please."

"Just a second, Haruno-san. I was just turning this off." Haruno whipped her head around and looked at the television set. For once, I was glad she didn't look up at me. I had no interest in watching a porno scene at the moment, but while I was trying to use the remote to turn it off, I caught a small glimpse of the sexual acts, of an oral nature, currently being performed by the actors. I blushed, embarrassed. Haruno did too.

After I switched off the television set, Haruno reached up, shifted in my lap, settling her hips on my crotch and gave a tentative rub. I inhaled. Hard. She was wearing a skirt. Damn. Why do I keep forgetting that! There was nothing covering her hips except for a pair of panties. All bare skin, all her bare skin, rubbing against the fabric of my pants. I hated my shirt before for denying me the pleasure of her lips. But I hate my trousers more for denying me, _this._

Haruno caressed my cheek, lovingly, "I can do that." she said, softly.

"Do what?" I asked, foolishly.

"Suck your cock." Haruno replied, coolly.

I looked at her face: her sweet, beautiful face. Her lips: her red, strawberry lips. I tried to imagine them, wrapped around my cock, taking me all the way in, sucking and licking, tipping me over the edge, making me come in her mouth…

I drew a ragged breath, "Later…" Even the thought was too much. I couldn't imagine, not even in my wildest dreams and fantasies, her partaking in oral sex. But this was the same woman, who borrowed a bunch of porn films from her former sensei, and took a sex book from her father's library. Why? So our first time could be perfect, that's why.

"Then, what do you want me to do?" Haruno asked, timidly.

"Nothing at all," I spoke softly, trying to make her see reason, wanting her to understand. "I just want you to relax a little. Don't worry too much. We love each other, right?"

"Of course we do!" Haruno exclaimed. She was sure and I was glad. Good. We love each other. I can't get tired of hearing it. Never. Never ever.

"And this is um, our first time, right?" I was a little uncertain about this.

Haruno was a little older than me, by two years, she said. More experienced in matters of love and seduction, the girl who plays with the heart of little boys and the woman every man dreams to have in my arms. But it was all fake, a façade, playing pretend. She wore a mask with them. She wore a mask for me too. But not now. Not after we confessed our love for each other. Not after we kissed.

"…Yes." Haruno replied. Her hands were back on my shoulders, wrapped around my neck, pulling me towards her, our lips meeting in a tender kiss, which promises to turn passionate soon.

This is who she really is: a young, inexperienced girl in love with a younger boy- who gets flustered over reading a couple of chapters from a sex book after she got embarrassed from watching porn, because it was being too loud and the dialogue was too nasty for her innocent taste.

…And who still blushes a dark shade of crimson while kissing the guy she loves.

-/-/-/-

A/N: Happy New Year Everybody!

Did you really think, I won't wish anyone a Happy 2018! I was just waiting to finish this penultimate chapter. **One more chapter left. Definitely gonna change the rating to 'M'**

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams.


	60. Chapter 60 The Haruno Arc Part V

Don't Own Oregairu

Warning: Lime

Chapter 59: The Haruno Arc Part V (Universe 12235360)

Our lips meet. A soft, timid, exploration of our desires began on the couch. Haruno closed her eyes, leaned forward and pressed her lips upon mine. Using the lightest of touches, the softest of moans, the woman I love made me her own. I gave her a place in my heart, took her in my arms, and promised to keep her safe.

We warmed each other in this cold winter night. Our bodies moulded, boiled and toiled, solving the conundrum of our unresolved sexual desires. Arms, legs, limbs, tumbled together: met, explored, plundered, sought, licked, kissed, pleasured- new skin, sensitive spots, and erogenous zones.

The living room felt like a coal mine: Haruno, the diamond: not sweating in overindulgence- gleaming, shimmering, shinning, instead; leaving a soft, soothing afterglow in her wake, basking the room in a pleasant musk of our mingling desires.

Her every touch heated the skin on my bones, her every kiss scorched the flesh on my lips. Her movements, her breathes, her moans: on me, for me, made me be me, myself and I- a coal in a coal mine.

The sofa felt like a furnace: our weight taken together, the heavy heat from our feverish movements, melting the plush surface of the cushions, sinking them further in the overflowing river of molten magma, wanting, needing, fulfilling, our wanton desires of consummation.

A woman in love is a wonder to behold. Her calm, collected, composure lies in shambles: forgotten, discarded. Like a live wire: twisting, convulsing, and quaking- her lively, luscious body, grinds and grounds, beams and bumps upon mine; her every curve and contour, stimulating and invigorating, the decadent, the debauched, the depraved: encouraging me to fuck her.

My arms wrapped around her waist grew bold, went lower, slithered like vines, grabbed her around the hips, gave them a hearty squeeze: soft skin, warm heat, firm and tight, fitting perfectly in the palm of my hands.

Haruno gasped, inhaled sharply, her eyelids fluttered open, startled at the fresh, bold touch of mine on her backside.

"Did you just squeeze my ass?" Haruno asked.

"Um, I am sorry?" I hope it sounded like an apology, at least.

Haruno giggled, "Whatever for."

I smirked, "Touché."

Using humour was a good ploy to elevate the tension. Haruno had turned it into an art form. Personally, I though kissing was a much better alternative to ease our nerves. Haruno seemed to agree.

The small, caressing touch on her wrist caught her unaware. She paid attention to my thumb, drawn on her pulse, feeling it beat: heightened, unsteady, erratic. The same pulse increased rapidly, started beating vapidly, when I took the initiative: looming over her lounging figure, moving over her cascading legs, leaning across her voluptuous bosom, to take a hold of her lips in mine, claiming them fiercely, the love, the lust, the need, the want, craving everything, denying nothing.

Haruno moaned: hoarse, harsh, husky. Snaking her arms in mine, sliding them up my elbow, my shoulder, my neck, until tangling her fingers in my hair, pulling me, almost yanking me sharply upon her body, claiming me, my hands, my chest, my mouth, making me grunt, grumble, groan in ecstatic pleasure.

"Your ahoge is acting funny." I heard her mumble in between kisses, moans, caresses, "It's um, kinda, standing straight in attention; you know what I mean?"

"Huh?" I was cradling her face in both my hands, coaxing her mouth open, prying her lips apart with my tongue. Needless to say, I was not articulate enough to hold a conversation at the moment. Guys suck at multitasking anyways. Also I like to prioritize: Kissing her comes first in everything.

We had a lot of time to talk and we talked a lot. I talked a lot of nonsense. She talked some sense in me. Tongues wagged. Tongues are wagging even now. Only good thing about this is we are kissing at the moment. Please, let there be no reason to hold a conversation, at least not now; not when I can feel the blood throbbing in my veins, flowing lower into my nether regions and making a certain part of me grow a bit erect. Haruno would notice soon.

"Your ahoge; you know that large lock of hair, which sticks out at the top of your head." Haruno explained, then messed everything up by planting a hot, wet, kiss on my mouth, rolling her tongue inside for good measure. "It's acting a little weird, I think."

I misheard. I blushed. I made a face. "Ahegao?" No! Not that face.

Haruno laughed, good-naturedly, at my little slip-up, "Look at me," she caressed my cheek: softly, sweetly, lovingly, "I just became the girl who tamed the monster of logic. Who would have thought this day would ever come?"

I chuckled, awkwardly, "It's night, actually."

Defending myself while teasing her in the process was a welcome change I got to enjoy, "It's not my fault, ahoge and ahegao, sound so similar. Moreover, you were talking to me and kissing me at the same time! And these were not soft, chaste pecks on the cheeks, Haruno. These were full blown, passionate, exchanges of saliva, leaving a string of spittle between open, panting mouths, swollen lips, glossy eyes and red cheeks."

I was myself though, being me, talking like me. She didn't want me to change when she knew I couldn't in the first place and I loved her for it. Loved her more.

Haruno smiled, sexy, "Hiratsuka Shizuka once quoted Einstein to me: 'Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves'. Needless to say, she was whining to me about another one of her cheapo dates, not showing up on date night and not imparting me any of her educational wisdom. 'Theory of relativity can suck an egg! They should put this quote in the curriculum.'-her words, not mine." She scooted over, wrapping her arms around my neck, rasping these words against my mouth. "Guess you were giving my kiss the attention it deserves."

"You bet," I grasped her elbows, pulling her close, balancing her on my lap, placing my lips on hers for good measure. "I want to lavish all my attention on your kisses, Haruno. Einstein's rule. Everything else is relative."

Haruno giggled, "He didn't say that."

"Well I am sure he said it to his wife." I thought for a moment, "He was married, right?"

"We will discuss his marriage in lengths some other time, Hachiman," Haruno spoke softly, her legs sliding precariously over and above mine, creating a tangling mess of limbs and appendages, "But right now you were saying something about ravishing me. I am more interested in this than that at the moment, thank you very much."

"…I'm pretty sure I said lavish, Haruno-san" I teased.

Haruno laughed, "I have created a monster!" She proclaimed cheerfully. "But now worries. I have a demon of my own." Her fresh enthusiasm caught me unawares, like she intended and gave her the chance to overpower me, just enough, to angle my face away for a bit and set her wicked plan in motion.

I gasped at the wet, warm, sensation of saliva on this fresh patch of skin: Haruno was licking the side of my neck, peppering a couple of open mouthed kisses, biting and nipping, experimentally, against the column of my throat.

"Was it good?" Haruno asked, anxiously. "I got this off the book. I don't know whether I read it right or not, but I think I did it correctly. What do you think?"

"…" I think I was drooling. No. The right word would be salivating.

"Hachiman?" Haruno looked a little worried, "You didn't hate it, did you?"

"Hate it?" I repeated her words. "Are you serious, Haruno?" I tried not to sound exasperated.

"Well, I did bite you in the neck." Haruno teased to ease the tension.

"…" Speechless. Utterly speechless.

Did she really not see what she was doing to me: what her touches, her kisses, her caresses, were doing to me? Well, no matter. I could easily let her know. Let her in on the secret. Both of us were on the sofa. I was sitting cross legged on the cushion. Haruno was on my lap. But a moment ago, while overpowering me to experiment with her kisses, Haruno nipped me in the neck. Before that, she had shoved me backwards. Now I was lying flat on the sofa, with my head and upper back being balanced against the armrest. Haruno was crawling over me, lying almost on top of me. It's a miracle, she didn't notice it. But the miracle was slowly proving to be a curse. I couldn't let Haruno linger on the borders of self-doubt. I have been there, knew what she was going through.

I placed a hand on her waist, keeping her still, positioned on top of my waist and then shifted only a little. Her dress had a skirt, remember. Haruno gasped at the new sensation, looked down at me in realisation and I held her gaze. The smallest of movements made our bodies align and for a moment there was symmetry in the overall design we had planned for us tonight. And like us, it fell into place: The bulge in my pants rubbed against her panties.

"Y-you are-" Haruno blushed.

I nodded, curtly, "Hard."

The word hung over us like the night we were already having: permeating the air, heightening the heady sensation we were feeling and making us willing take new chances and risks in our exploration of each other.

Loved her lips, kissed them hard, made her moan for me. Felt a droplet of sweat run down my face. It was freezing outside, late winter night, winds running amok, chances of fleeting snowflakes. Inside, the heat felt omniscient. The faintest brush of her body upon mine set me ablaze, anew: her hands scalded my flesh, her lips scorched my mouth. Our burning desires only needed a hearth. She invited me over to light the fire, I accepted her invitation. Now the flame rises. We burn together, willingly. Never imagined myself growing this intense over a woman: the heat of the moment getting the best of me, taking the lead, the initiative, the approach, her everything.

Asserting more than a little bit of control, letting her take at least a little bit of my weight, I laid almost on top her, purposefully: the bulge in my pants rubbed against her pelvis, eliciting a moan of pleasure. Haruno closed her eyes, giving into the sensation, rocking back and forth in an unkempt rhythm. Grabbing her hips, I pulled her closer to me, giving her a better access, a better angle to grind herself against my crotch.

This was all very overwhelming, like it always is for anyone new to the ways of sexual intercourse. I felt a wet sensation on my nether regions and imagined the worse. I lowered my head in shame and embarrassment. It would be bad, really bad. But I was aroused and it was painful and I- Wait! No! This was unexpected.

There was a small, almost negligible stain visible on my crotch. But my attention was focussed on something else entirely. There was a darker stain, much more visible, much more evident on a pair of blue panties.

"D-don't lo-look," Haruno blushed, "I a-am-"

"Wet." I offered, helpfully.

Haruno moved her head sideways, trying to evade the look in my eyes and in doing so, she ended up exposing her lovely neck for my ministrations.

I left a wet trail of soft kisses upon the skin of her tender neck. She gasped, held onto me tightly. I seemed to have found a new erogenous zone: It was on the ridge of her chin, where the heat of her blush passed her cheeks, spreading across her cute earlobes. I gave them a playful lick, while these hands of mine sought her firm hips, rubbing and kneading the soft flesh to both our delight, eliciting many a moans from her throat, which were swallowed by my mouth, entirely. The same hands made her shudder, when they began their journey upwards her spine, making her arch her back in recognition of the now, familiar touch.

We had already started moving our bodies together, garbed and clothed, rocking back and forth, picking a steady rhythm. The bulge in my pants, the stain on her panties, our mingled musk, everything came into account in this sensual discourse.

She hooked her ankles behind my back and pulled me closer to grind against her pelvis. I lost my balance, almost toppled over. My left elbow broke the fall. But my right hand had made an involuntary wild grab and found her breasts a worthy candidate to fill my palms.

Haruno yelped. I looked alarmed. We stared at each other for a moment with my hands laying shamelessly on top her breasts. I looked down at my hand, my palms, my fingers. They had picked up a different sensation, altogether: Her nipples had pebbled against the fabric of her dress and I could clearly see them with my own eyes. My finger twitched, involuntarily.

"Well Hachiman," Haruno's voice shook, slightly. No, not nervousness, desire lurked beneath her skin now, "I already know what you think of my ass. But what about my breasts. Any thoughts?"

I smirked, "Plenty, Haruno-san" I flicked my thumb across her nipple. She shuddered, biting her lips to stop herself from letting go of another loud moan. I could easily change this, make her more comfortable, let her loose herself in me and me in her, without any inhibitions, any restrains, we can be beautiful together. We only needed more space, more room. The couch had served its purpose. It was time to move on.

"You plan on sharing them with me or do I have to get creative with you, Hachiman." Haruno teased.

She pulled one of her luscious legs, straight up and brought them to rest against the growing bulge in my pants and using her toe in a rather skilful fashion, almost drove me to the edge of insanity. I groaned at the sensation, the blood throbbing in my veins, her foot running up and down my member in neat strokes.

"I plan on sharing my everything with you, Haruno-san." I croaked, painfully, "But first I want to take you to bed."

Haruno halted the motion of her foot on my crotch rather abruptly. Her head turned sideways, eyes looming on the closed door to her private bed chamber. I doubt she lets anyone in there. No love, only loneliness is painted in those walls.

She doesn't want me to change. But does she want me to change her: end her loneliness, share her life, sympathise, empathise with her struggles, and finally be there for her when her time comes.

She will never tell, I will never ask.

The problem with perfection is no one knows who you really are. In the end perfection itself is the perfect problem for perfection personified. Good thing I am not perfect. But Haruno is.

I wait. I wait for her to refuse me. Her bed is out of bounds. Those are sacred grounds, decreed to remain untainted, unfit to be soiled by the likes me, someone, something not genuine.

But then she gives me her hand, entwines her fingers in mine, smiles a beautiful smile and says the words I had never thought of hearing on her lips:

"Take care of me tonight, Hachiman."

-/-/-/-

A/N: This chapter had a lot of "mmn~", "hhn~", "nnm~" etc (moaning and groaning sounds basically). But I removed them while uploading the chapter. If you guys want I can add them later on.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams.

-/-/-/-


	61. Chapter 61 The Haruno Arc Part VI

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 61: Haruno Arc Part VI (Universe 12235360)

"Fuck!" Haruno gasped, aroused.

The hollow of her neck, the column of her throat, the underside of her chin became the subject of my many wanton ministrations. My lips laid open mouthed kisses on her shoulder, sharp teeth scrapped along her collar bone, teasing and nipping, every patch of her exposed skin, affording me the pleasure of hearing her voice breathe into my ear- thick and heavy, wanting and needing.

"Don't stop, Hachiman," Haruno pleaded.

Felt numerous shivers course through her body, heightening her senses, revealing her vulnerabilities, expressing her deep, buried desires for me: exposing her neck to my mouth, arching her back to my touch, grinding her hips to my groin, making me groan at having her moan.

"Oh fuck!" she cursed, again.

Felt a smile tug at my lips. Her usage of profanity was cute, adorable and oh so fucking hot! Haruno was an extremely expressive woman. She held no qualms about keeping her voice down at the throes of passion: panting in pleasure, gasping in delight, moaning in desire and screaming in sheer ecstasy.

"Feels so good~" Haruno moaned, blissfully.

Haruno liked to kiss. I like to think she liked kissing only me: leaning into me, closing her eyes, parting her lips, kissing me tenderly, then fervently, then aggressively, pressing her petite body into mine, fisting the fabric of my clothes.

"Your bedroom?" I asked.

"…Too far." Haruno mumbled.

I looked at her confused. But Haruno was already dragging me by the collar of my shirt, all the while kissing me, making me bite back several groans, then making me take her, trap her, cage her, using my shoulders, using my arms, using my hands, backing her into the wall overlooking her bedroom.

"But, Haruno…" I sounded unsure.

"Please, Hachiman." Haruno almost pleaded, "Indulge me."

"…As you wish." I replied.

Her hands swung around my shoulders, wrapped themselves around my back, pulling me closer, making me want to lose my fingers in her soft, silky tresses, wanting me to bury my nose in her shoulders, inhale her sweet, intoxicating scent; pleasure her.

"Ohhn~" Haruno groaned, shivered.

"You like?" I asked, smug.

"Very much." Haruno replied, eyes foggy.

Kissing the erogenous zone I discovered on her neck, I ran my lips on the underside of her chin and playfully nibbled on her right earlobe, eliciting a primeval cry from her lips, which neither of us ever expected to hear.

"Hachiman!" Haruno screamed, aroused.

I wish I could just stand back and watch the overall change showing on her face: the lust, the carnal desire, running in the ramparts of her glorious thighs, aching to be pulled apart, waiting to be satisfied- by my fingers, by my mouth, by my hardening-.

"Fu-hk!" I groaned, overwhelmed.

Haruno seemed to have read my mind. Like always, her smile brought along nothing but pain and tension. But this was the sweet kind of pain, the pleasant kind of tension. I felt myself sighing, groaning, mumbling, reaching for her. But not wanting her to stop.

"What about you, Hachiman?" Haruno asked, teasing, "How am I doing?"

"You are-grr!" I almost fell over at the stimulation.

She was rubbing herself against the length of my hardness and I was loving every moment of this friction between our fully clothed bodies, almost begging to be stripped, nearly wanting to be shed, needing to be shred, inch my inch, fabric by fabric.

"Oh, you look like you want to devour me, Hachiman." Haruno said, sweetly.

"No," I mumbled, voice thick with pleasure. "I want to eat you."

I thought this would be embarrassing. I thought Haruno would throw her head back and laugh at me, make me feel small, immature, irrelevant- the lonely teenager horny for a fuck. But again I was wrong. And she proved me wrong. Haruno did not make fun of my arousal. She revelled in it: grinding, bucking, rubbing, moaning my name, breathing fresh life into me.

"Double entendre, my dear Hachiman?" Haruno asked, seductively.

"No. A promise." I replied.

All it took was a smouldering kiss.

I welcomed the delirium of desire, gave in to the need of the hour and abandoned all of my most conceited thoughts, regarding gentlemanliness and maidenhood. I was not a gentleman. And Haruno was not a maiden. Our hearts, our bodies, our lack of experiences made us virgins. But we were not naïve. We lost our innocence a long time ago: I have these dead fish eyes to show for. And Haruno has her smile.

"Don't tempt me, Hachiman," Haruno warned playfully, "I might just take you up on your offer."

"It would me my absolute pleasure." I replied, voice shaking.

These same eyes which were never looked upon with love, saw love being reflected back from her. Likewise, the smile on her lips, which was never real, always fake, always artificial, felt real for me, tasted real to me, when they parted open, letting me deepen our kiss.

Intensity proved to be a failure of a word, to describe the passion beckoning me towards her, making me rise to meet her supple lips with mine, having her melting like hot magma, flowing over my arms, encompassing my very being, moulding me to her benign design. Having her curvaceous figure squirming and writhing in pleasure, her velvety tongue teasing my lips, before rushing inside my mouth, and overlapping my tongue, was making me groan from the back of my throat.

"God, Haruno!" I groaned.

Haruno teased, "Goddess Haruno, thank you very much."

The sound of our clothes brushing created a pleasant friction. A steady reminder to take our passionate melding of bodies and take the final step, towards achieving the next level of intimacy was always being provided by the growing sounds of our combined destruction: my legs kicked over a potted green plastic plant, her hand knocked over a bronze bust.

"Sorry about the plant," I apologized not really caring, more focussed on kissing.

"Don't worry. It's fake." Haruno supplied, kissing me back.

Our bodies thrashed together in insatiable gratification, our cries of pleasure, groans of arousal rang down the empty hallways, echoed over her closed bedroom door. We found ourselves losing our collective control- never realising when we broke a priceless vase, ruined a valuable painting and left marks of our salacious conduct on the wall, overlooking her bedroom, next.

"You are not hurt are you?" I asked, tenderly.

"No," Haruno replied, "The vase was flimsy."

"…I think it's from the Ming dynasty." I replied after studying the broken pieces scattered on the floor.

"No. It's a fake," Haruno replied solemnly, "Like everything else in this place."

"Well," I looked at her, suggestively, "Not everything."

"Cute," Haruno teased, "But I can also take it like an insult; you comparing me to a 'thing', an 'object', and etcetera and etcetera."

"…I never thought of you like that, Haruno-san." I replied solemnly.

"I know," Haruno chuckled, bitterly. "But everyone else does."

"Let me help you forget about them, Haruno-san." I offered, claiming her soft lips in mine. "At least for tonight."

"Yes please." She obliged, parting her lips to me, "And call me Haruno. No honorific, Hachiman."

Afterwards, neither of us seemed to care about the vandalism our wantonness was causing in her apartment. After all, I always thought of Haruno as a force of nature; recklessness was in her nature, whether it came to love or love making.

"We certainly got the kissing part down haven't we, Hachiman?" Haruno asked, breaking the kiss.

"Yeah I think so, Haruno." I held her chin, meeting her eyes, vying to angle her lips to mine.

"And we are comfortable with each other, right?" Haruno mumbled between kisses.

"As much as we can be," I replied, swallowing her next words with my mouth.

Our bodies were perfectly aligned: her arms around my back, pulling me close, my hands, splayed over the small of her back, brushing lightly above the swell of her hips, the small expanse of exposed skin, made incidentally available to my wayward fingers, courtesy of her skirt riding upwards, from our repeated writhing and squirming, on the comparatively rougher surface of the wall.

In the end, a small brush of a few fingers was all it took.

"Oh God!" Haruno gasped, aloud.

Her sharp intake of breath was the first clue. The hoarse cry leaving her kiss swollen lips was unintentional. Apparently these fingertips of mine were found acceptable to linger around, beneath the fabric of her skirt, even daring to touch the soft, untouched expanse of skin on the curve of her hips. But for Haruno these feather light touches of mine seemed simply not enough. At least not now.

"I wanna try something." Haruno said, rather abruptly.

"Um, okay." I replied, confused

Haruno started kissing me with fresh vigour. I kissed her back in kind. But then, without breaking our kiss, somehow, someway, I felt her body rising upwards to meet mine. She was trying to stand to her fullest height, going on her tiptoes even, using the wall behind her for leverage, grabbing both my shoulders for support, almost shooting up into the air.

"What are you-" The rest of my words got dissolved in a mumbling mess from the strength of her kisses.

At first I didn't quite understand the reasoning behind this. We were kissing passionately, fervently, feverishly. In a sense the blood thumping my veins was replenished. My heart felt like beating out of my chest. But I don't know how to word this without sounding like an asshole, but, um, kissing is not new.

But then I felt her firm hips move a little differently than I was used to by now.

"Holy!" I cursed, loudly.

This time around Haruno was not grinding her hips into me like before, not thrusting them forward into me, into my groin. Instead, she rode them up, until they were deliberately placed on the surface of my palms, resulting in me able to hold her and keep her standing upright, only by grabbing onto her hips, rather firmly.

"Is this okay?" Haruno asked.

"Of course, it is!" I almost yelled.

For all intents and purposes I ended up cupping her ass.

"Good," Haruno mumbled into my neck, "Because I'm not done."

"What-" She cut me off.

"Don't drop me," Haruno warned, "It would be really embarrassing. For the both of us."

"Haru-" I could not finish the sentence.

Suddenly, the firmness of her hold on me increased tenfold. Feeling her hips in my hands was a wonderful thing. But like she said, Haruno was not done with me. Not yet. After having placed her hips upon my palm, she performed several feats of, what I can only term, erotic aerobatics, resulting in me almost having a small heart attack at the sight of her, raising her gorgeous legs almost simultaneously, then suddenly, rather swiftly wrapping them around my sides, hooking her ankles behind my back, while leaving me almost breathless, nearly helpless, to figure out the rest of what was happening.

"Are you alright?" Haruno asked, again.

"I should be the one asking that," I replied, "I didn't hurt you, right?"

"No." Haruno shook her head "You kind of crushed me into your chest."

"Sorry." I mumbled, grabbing onto her body more securely.

"Don't be." Haruno replied, "I feel safe in your arms, Hachiman."

I almost had a splinter of a second to figure out the dynamics involved in keeping her aloft in the air, while balancing her entire weight on me and stopping the both of us from tumbling over like a bunch of horny idiots. I managed rather fine: pulling her into my chest, wrapping my arms around her body, her back, her hips, making her cling onto me, using her hands, her arms, her legs, her thighs, her ankles.

"I'm not heavy, am I?" Haruno asked, jokingly.

"You're light as a feather, Haruno," I replied, rubbing her back in a comforting manner.

"Aw! Look at you!" Haruno cooed, "Knowing just the right thing to say to get into a woman's heart."

"Very funny, Haruno-san." I levelled her with a heated look, "But at the moment, I am more interested in getting into a woman's pants."

"Lucky her," Haruno mumbled, her mouth on my skin, trailing kisses down my neck, "I bet you know where her bedroom is."

"Yes, I do." I had already started walking toward her bedroom, with her draped across me like a second skin.

I felt like the creases left on my shirt would never be ironed out. The collar would definitely be stretched in a ghastly manner. But caring for my shirt at this point of time was a sin. Haruno had proved to be incredibly flexible and acrobatic to some extent. I also discovered myself possessing a little bit of sinewy strength and a keen sense of instinct. Those traits would surely be put to good use soon enough. The thought made me reckless, bold and stupid.

In other words, I didn't see where I was going.

"Damn door," I cursed.

Haruno made no comment. But I did feel her body tremble in my arms. In other words, she was shaking in mirth. Almost stubbing my foot on the door of her bedroom was not remotely helpful in making me appear at least a little bit appealing; at least physically speaking. Though by now, I was certain, Haruno was attracted more to my intelligence. Sapiosexual is really a word. Google it morons!

In my frustrations, I kicked the door in. I was almost disappointed, when the door didn't bounce off its hinges, and admit defeat before my very presence, and also apologize for making me look bad before the woman I love.

This time, Haruno did giggle. "You sure showed the door whose boss."

"…It was asking for it." I mumbled defensively.

Haruno affected a coy look, "Well, I hope you know what I am asking for." She looked sideways, pointedly. "There's my bed, Hachiman."

I felt her hold on me tighten a fraction: the arms around my neck, her hands on my back, her palms facing downwards on my shoulder blades, her every finger curled upon my spine, nails digging into the fabric of my shirt, her legs running round my waist, her thighs wrapping around my sides, her ankles crossing behind my back.

"It's nice." I murmured, not trusting my voice.

"No," Haruno shook her head, "This is nice." Her lips claimed mines once again.

All it took was a couple of small strides to take her to bed in an extremely literal sense. We plopped down together in a pile of hormones and adrenaline and inexperience. Her queen-sized bed welcomed the both of us and gave us its blessing to follow through with our hearts inner most desires. There was no judgement; only love and want and the need to make the other a part of your own- a tall task indeed, especially for the likes of us.

"Your shirt looks hideous." Haruno commented, abruptly.

"…But I look acceptable, right?" I asked, feeling dread.

"Give me a sec," Haruno was quick and brutal.

"What the fuck!" I yelped, surprised.

"Now you look acceptable," Haruno crooned, smiling devilishly at her handiwork "No. Far better! You look sexier, than I ever imagined, Hachiman."

"…Figured you would imagine pulling something like this, Haruno." I said. But I couldn't make my voice sound even a little accusatory.

When Haruno had called the shirt I was wearing hideous, for a moment I had the terrible feeling of having my heart fill up to the brim with nothing but horror and dread, at her seemingly apparent rejection of me and my love for her.

After all, calling the shirt hideous might have been her way of breaking the news to me, in a kind and good natured manner, while letting me know, she changed her mind about me, realised the mistake she was making, weighing the pros and cons and deciding against me and whatever she thought, I could ever hope to offer her. I was nothing. I had nothing. I didn't hold any delusions about myself.

But instead, I felt Haruno clasp the front of my shirt. Then in quick rapid successions, I felt her hands on me: vicious, brutal and swift. Before I knew it, the placket located right in the middle of the shirt, running straight down from the collar to the hem of the shirt, faced the brunt of her unsuspecting attack. She came down hard on the buttons, doing them two at a time, tugging, pulling, yanking them from their respective buttonholes, making my shirt fall open, while forcing a few of these innocent buttons to fly away in terror from her wrath, seeking solace in some corner of her bedroom, where they will never be found again.

In the end, my shirt was reduced to an un-wearable mess.

"There are easier ways to get a guy naked, Haruno." I replied, watching her watch me.

"Oh?" Haruno hunched forward, "I am all ears, Hachiman." Her hands reached out, palms facing outwards, fingers stretching, gradually slinking inside the boundaries of my shirt and then I felt it: her soft, feminine touch upon my bare torso, almost tickling my skin, and yet making my heart beat frantically against my ribs.

"This feels different," Haruno whispered. I could feel her breath on my cheeks. "Feels stronger than when I felt it through your shirt." I knew she was referring to my heart. She had deliberately placed her hands over the left side of my chest. But I could feel my breath hitch in disappointment, when she withdrew her hands from on top of my chest. And I was just getting used to the warmth. No matter.

I grabbed her hand, tugged her closer to me, until she was almost sitting on my lap. "You ruined my shirt, Haruno." I accused, teasingly. "How are you going to make up for it?" I asked in the same tone.

"I'm sure you will come up with something, Hachiman" Haruno offered, teasingly.

Then, just to enunciate my thoughts, she slowly and oh so sensuously turned, grinding her hips on my lap along the way, just to torture me some more, before showing me the back of her outfit; Or more particularly the tantalising zipper, which ran from the nape of her neck, down to the small of her back.

"…" I was struck speechless.

"…Do you want me to strip?" Haruno asked, nonplussed.

"No!" I nearly shouted, "Let me do it."

My hands shook a little, my fingers definitely twitched. Slowly but surely I took a hold of the zipper and slithered it down her spine, revealing inch by inch of smooth, untouched skin. Haruno fidgeted a little from the exposure, but said nothing else. I place both my hands on her shoulders and twisted her around, until our eyes met and we were able to see the blush on both our faces.

"…Sorry for ripping your shirt. I don't know what came over me, Hachiman." Haruno said, her voice was all shy and timid, "And thank you for not doing the same thing to my dress, even though I probably deserve it."

"It's a nice dress." I replied instead, "Besides, like you said, that shirt was hideous."

Haruno sniffed. "Then let me take it off of you, Hachiman."

I felt her both her hands gently skim the shirt from my shoulders: down my arms, down my back. I helped her along to take it off of me until I was left, sitting shirtless, under her eyes raking my completely bare torso. She ended up absentmindedly chucking my shirt, somewhere in the back of her room. But at least this time, she had the decency to look apologetic.

"Sorry." Haruno replied, quickly. "I will find it in the morning. I promise! I will even fix it for you. I am very good at sewing stuff."

"We can worry about my shirt later." I replied. My hands were busy tossing the sleeves down her shoulders and watching her sashay out of her dress, until she was left sitting on her bed, clad in nothing except for a pair of panties.

"…You are-" I choked on my words.

"-Not wearing a bra, yes." Haruno offered helpfully, "Thank you for noticing, Hachiman."

-/-/-/-

A/N: Now, be honest, that's exactly the kind of shit Haruno would pull, right? Not gonna lie, I laughed so hard when I wrote the last line, I nearly deleted the entire chapter by mistake! So glad that didn't happen.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams.

-/-/-/-


	62. Chapter 62 The Haruno Arc VII (Lemon)

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 62: Haruno Arc Part VII (Universe 12235360)

Warning: Lemon

-/-/-/-

Remember watching mannequins in a lingerie store: plastic bodies, plastic breasts, barely covered in the various flimsy fabrics, ranging from silk to satin, from tulle to lace. Learning they were also called negligee was hardly surprising. Haruno had decided not to wear any kind of exotic lingerie to entice me. Even the thought of her clad in lingerie might have made me explode. This was much better. No bra. Only a pair of panties. This was more preferable.

Getting scolded for staring at something for too long was not new to me back then. These dead fish eyes of mine always managed to paint a damnable picture of me for the general masses. Like always, the older, judgemental people of society sought to comment on the perverse nature of the current youthful generation, making me the torch bearer of youthful lust, the mascot of perverseness, the scapegoat of horniness. I was thirteen back then. My crime was looking at the lingerie store in the middle of the mall. But I am eighteen now. Again, I am caught staring. But my crime, this time is not doing anything else. Truly unforgivable.

In the lingerie store, puberty had thrown me a curve ball, kicked me to the curb and then curbed me of an extremely normal adolescent experience: mystification over the opposite sex, yearning to learn their deep, buried secret, physically and psychologically. Back then, the physical aspect felt more interesting to me. A big mistake. But a normal mistake, notheless. After all, puberty threw everyone for a curve. But Orimoto threw me off a cliff. Seemed only fair, I think.

That summer was unbearable: getting hit by a growth spurt, rising awkwardness and embarrassment while trying to talk to members of the opposite sex and ultimately getting accustomed to their general avoidance, their contempt, their dislike, their hate. Again, alienation was not new to me; but the reason for it that time, was. Didn't blame Orimoto. Only started hating nice girls.

Haruno was never a nice girl.

Nothing came from being nice in this world, she had once told me. So, she did not try being genuinely nice to anyone. Her masks, her façade, the fake touches and smiles, cast an allusion, allured the innocent, bewitching both their hearts and minds, until they were reduced to mere puppets, set to re-enact her endgame. Later, these same puppets would end up getting strangled by their own strings. Haruno would watch. Perhaps sometimes. But never lift a finger. She got no enjoyment from watching her broken puppets. But she did not care for them either.

Like I said before, Haruno was not a nice girl.

If I said this out aloud, Haruno would laugh at the feeble accusation. Her breasts would shake in mirth. So, I kept queit. Even though I really meant it. Forgoing her bra for tonight was purely evil. A devilish scheme on her part to cease all brain functions of mine. People looked at her, gawked at her, even when she wore a full sleeved cardigan, paired with a skirt, which flowed past most of her legs and reached up to her ankles, leaving only her delicate heel clad feet for the perverse scrutiny of the masses.

These rotten dead fish eyes of mine tried to prevent me from getting taken in by her appearance. They failed miserably in every aspect of this endeavour. Haruno was a beautiful, with or without a dress. I was a little biased towards the latter: having her sitting before me in all her naked glory- correction half naked, exposed from the bottom up, bare breasted, topless, call it whatever you want. Resisting the temptation to look was proving immensely difficult. Haruno was not shying away from this, not making an attempt to cover her uncovered upper body, not even trying to cross her arms in a show of embarrassment and mortification. No regrets. She had made her decision. Haruno just sat on her bed: taking in the look in these eyes, then looking down at the bulge in these pants, and then finally choosing to wait patiently for me to react, respond, retort. At least do something other than stare at them like a stupid, nincompoop, Hachiman!

Haruno was akin to small glass figurine: her curves looked spongy, her face looked supple, her eyes looked susceptible. Her shoulders, her arms, her hands, her wrists looked soft and her legs, her thighs, her calves, her ankles looked sinuous-a true work of nature, a creature of creation, the woman plaguing everyman's dreams. The shadows illuminated by light played a treacherous game on her half naked form, spattering her in darker shades, revealing and hiding her all the same, while simultaneously drawing more attention from me to her.

Our previous, past meetings and interactions came to the foray of this mind of mine. Mostly, Haruno would appear wearing a cardigan over her outfit of the day. Never once did I wonder about the kind of lingerie she wore underneath all those layers of clothing. Despite popular believe these mind of mine is not a cesspool of perverseness.

But, Haruno definitely wore a bra beneath her clothing on every occasion. Her breasts seemed pushed up by an artificial source, providing the allusion of being non-natural to a faint extent, trapped together in those closed confines, only garnering the attention of the unwanted masses of this pestilent society.

But tonight her breasts seemed to have lowered their defences around me: sitting pretty, sitting lower, completely real and natural, perfectly proportioned to her figure, the lighter tones contrasting with the rest of her sun-kissed skin, except for the deep, dusky pink surface of the areola around her even darker, chocolaty nipples.

The mattress dipped lower; movement. Blinking in surprise, I caught sight of her raising her hands up and then slowly gliding them down her front, over the same breasts which had been basking in the attention bestowed upon them from me for all the while long. Haruno lowered her hands further, until they were at the underside of her breasts. Quite tenderly, she cupped her breasts in her palms. Her dainty fingers ended up supporting their entire weight. Then teasingly enough, she started moving them up, pushing them aloft, holding them upward- a mass of soft, warm and oh so squeezable fat, the very sight of which made me groan from the back of my throat.

"I was getting bored with all the staring." Haruno murmured seductively. She stroked herself, touched herself, rubbing her breasts in a delectable manner, making it difficult for me to breathe. "So I decided to have fun by myself."

"Sorry for staring, Haruno." I replied back. Gulping down my worries I asked. "Um, can I touch you?"

Haruno giggled. Her breasts swayed precariously. "I thought you would never ask, Hachiman."

She moved her arms away from her body. I reached forward, grabbing one of her breasts in the palm of my hand, feeling their warmth, their weight, their softness, provide a pleasurable contrast which had earlier evaded my grasp. I even dared to run my thumb along the slope of her breasts. She gave a sharp gasp at the touch. But she did not voice any other kind of complains. I think I was doing great. But Haruno pointed out the obvious.

"You have two hands, you know." Haruno almost whined.

"Oh right." I blushed. Goddammit. Two hands are better than one.

Kissing her neck, her chin, swallowing her sharp gasps and load moans with my mouth, while stroking her breasts, rubbing her nipples, caressing her navel, made me gasp for air and groan out her name near her ears. "Haruno," I murmured. "I love you."

"I love you too, Hachiman." Haruno replied immediately. "Now take off your pants!"

Didn't need to be told twice; unbuckling the belt, unzipping the trousers, taking them off one leg at a time, I nearly had to duck when I saw a piece of cloth soar through the air and hit the back end of the wall of her bedroom.

"Hey, what did you-?" I turned around and froze where I stood.

"You are too slow, Hachiman." Haruno replied, getting down from her bed, almost kneeling between my legs. "I got rid of my panties. And look at you! Still wearing your boxers!" I felt her hands creep inside the waistband. "Here, let me take them off for you."

"I-I can manage fine." Watching her kneeling between my legs, her hands placed at both sides of my waist, with her face bare inches away from the growing bulge inside the same boxers, she was trying to take off, was a bad idea on so many levels. I didn't want 'it' to bounce out and hit her in the face. No. Even the mental image was too much. "Go back to bed, Haruno. You don't have to take them off for me. Like I said. I can manage."

"I know." Haruno replied. Her hands never shook. They held onto the waist band. "But I want to." She looked up at me from below, kneeling between my legs and I felt her searching for an answer in these rotten dead fish eyes of mine. She found them, I think. One swift, fluid movement later, my boxers found themselves pooled around my ankles.

Both of us were now completely naked.

I didn't dare look down at her even though the urge was unbearable. I wanted to look at her eyes which were at the moment looking at my naked form, including the twitching erection which was now free from the confines of my boxers and coming up to face the woman it desired with all the hot, heavy blood pumping through its veins.

"You are magnificent, Hachiman." Haruno whispered.

Before I could take a moment to contemplate the meaning behind her words, I felt her fingers leaving lingering touches on the side of my calf muscles, which was making it difficult for me to breathe, let alone think in a coherent manner. Her fingers crawled upwards, until they reached the back of my knees and for the first time I realised I was sensitive down there: my legs bucked, almost giving out under my weight.

"Would you like to sit down on the bed?" Haruno asked.

"N-No." I replied hoarsely, "I am f-fine like this."

"Alright then." Haruno replied.

She scooted closer, making herself comfortable, perfectly parallel and almost aligned, nestled between the small space between both these legs of mine, which were suddenly having trouble performing their job, of keeping me standing upright, while she slowly made her fingers, move along the line of my inner thighs, making me squirm, making me fidget at the benevolent mercy she was about to show me. I looked down at her petite form, her hands stretching out, reaching for me. There was a silent moment of contemplation, licking her lips, flexing her fingers, the instant where she gathered her resolve and within the hiss of a breath, I felt her small, delicate hands wrapping themselves around me, then moving, up and down, setting a steady rhythm, igniting my arousal, making me much harder than ever before.

"Haru-" The breath needed to call out her name was too much. I rolled back my head, groaned in pleasure at her hands rubbing along the girth of my heavily stimulated length, which was making it really harder for me to think of the several past instances when I had touched myself and rubbed the erection off of me by bringing to mind a few salacious images from numerous wet dreams and wild fantasises. But this time it was different. This time it was not a dream. At least I think it's not. Now that would be simply terrible.

"This is not a dream is it?" I asked, fighting back another tremor, released by her skilful hands.

"No it isn't." Haruno offered. Her voice was curt. She was concentrating.

"Um, that's something someone in a dream would say." I replied, before getting shaken from another volt of pleasure.

"Have many dreams about me, did you Hachiman?" Haruno asked. This time I felt the humour behind her words.

"Yes." I told her truthfully, "Several actually."

"Good answer." Haruno replied. "That definitely deserves a reward."

She increased the speed of each of her strokes, making me pant and groan, driving me to the very edge of delirious madness and having white hot lights of pure ecstasy explode behind my eyelids. I haven't even realised when I had closed my eyes. Probably when I succumbed to the pleasure her hands were in the process of affording me. People often made it sound like getting the girl to use her mouth on you, treat you to a long round of oral pleasure, was the only highlight of an eventful night of mindless sex. The ultimate foreplay, they called it. At the present moment I could not give any comment on that particular topic. But I can say with absolute certainty, what Haruno was doing to me was immensely pleasurable.

She kept everything simple: her grip was soft while being firm at the same time, letting me know every slide of her palm held a definite purpose, every caress of her dainty fingers had a meaning. There was no spitting involved whatsoever, like I had seen on several pornographic videos. Haruno was elegant, methodical, clinical, not making a mess, not doing anything untoward, nothing too overwhelming, too stimulating to my overly responsive and extremely sensitive member. I felt the hold slipping, a knot loosening, the urge taking over, wanting to spill over. But I wanted to hold back just a little more, even for one more minute was enough, just a second more- a few more strokes of her hand, a couple more caresses of her finger, one last graze of her smooth, velvety palm.

Opening my eyes I looked down at her for the first time. Really looked, took in everything and the sensory overload I suffered pushed me over the edge: Haruno was looking at my privates, her hands warm upon me, moving, gliding, rubbing me up and down, concentrating on maintaining the slick, smooth rhythm. But then she looked up, our eyes met and in her eyes, there was only love. Then she smiled the smile I know she only smiles for me.

I exploded in her hand then and there, making a mess in the process and going soft in her very hands, which now felt wet with fluid warmth, both clammy and sticky. The reason was obvious. It was kind of embarrassing. I heard a small voice leave my mouth.

"I'm sorry." I found myself saying. My legs had given out and I was lucky I had fallen over on the bed instead of the solid floor. Getting my head cracked open on her bedroom floor after such a tremendous experience seemed highly probable at the moment. It would go well with my miserable life, sustaining an injury in the head, getting amnesia and forgetting the most awesome moment of my miserable little life.

"Whatever for, Hachiman." Haruno replied, gathering a small piece of cloth from somewhere, using it to wipe her hands, clean her arms, then her breasts from the residual remnants of my impromptu spillage. Thankfully, I could see no stains on her face. Good. The mere sight would have made me hard in a heartbeat. "Were you hoping to hold out on me, then? That would have served a pretty brutal blow to my ego, don't you think? Not being able to satisfy my man."

I blinked, "Your man?"

Haruno blushed at getting caught, "It's a figure of speech. Kinda archaic. Definitely medieval." She mumbled mostly to herself before smiling. "Don't think too much about it, Hachiman. It's a way of thinking my mother taught me when I was a child: 'There are no horrible husbands in this word, Haruno. Only bad wives who cannot satisfy their men'. I guess it kinda struck with me."

"…that's a horrible thing to tell a child." I replied, appalled at the idea.

"Not according to my mother." Haruno replied bitterly. "She would probably call it a notion of imparting matriarchal wisdom and maternal love, passed down over the generations to their each and every daughter, to help them marry a rich and influential husband and go about producing a number of heirs to carry his lineage into the future; the same future I would be forced to share with that bastard despite loving someone else!"

I had heard enough. Grabbing her arm, I gradually brought her toward me on the bed, tilting her face and kissing her in the mouth, trying to make her forget about everything else in her preordained, predestined life which would never be perfect- only fake and artificial. The thought made me want to kiss her harder. We were now both on the bed: me lying on the mattress, her, crawling on top of me to lie down lightly on my chest. I felt her peppering kisses on my neck, then my chest. But then I felt her finger tease my nipples. I gasped at her touch.

"Oh!" Haruno sounded pleased, "You are sensitive here too."

"Of course I am!" I yelped.

Unlike her puckered pink nipples, my nipples seemed flat like old copper coins. The sensation of her lying on top of me, kissing me, rubbing her body all over me, made a recently made softened member of mine twitch in anticipation, almost brushing against the curve of her hips, making her raise her eyebrows in interest.

"That was quick." Haruno stated.

"I don't hear you complaining." I replied.

"Oh no. I am not complaining at all." Haruno deepened our kiss, rolling her tongue inside my mouth for good measure, managing to draw a guttural groan from me for her effort. "This is me being pleased."

I could feel her thighs: moist and wet. This was it. We were going to have sex. Correction, make love.

Haruno got around preparing ourselves: aligning both our bodies perfectly by moving on top my chest, going lower and lower, until she was straddling my thighs, her warm, wetness rubbing pleasantly against the moisture accumulating on the top of my fully erect member. I grabbed on to her hips with both my hands, then moved them to her knees, trying my best to help her maintain the perfect position we found ourselves in. She placed one of her hands on my stomach for added balance.

"Haruno," She looked down at me from her position.

"What?" Haruno asked me. The way she looked, completely naked, glistening in sweat, skin flushed, cheeks red, hair slightly mussed, breasts rising and falling in anticipation with each breath, both her legs encompassing the sides of my waist, effectively straddling my hips: Girl on top, it is. I expected nothing else from her. For me this position is perfect too. I will get to see her ride me over the edge of pleasure. Like a cowgirl for example. Bad joke. Shut up, I am trying to calm my nerves.

"I don't want to hurt you." I said, looking deep into her eyes, "This is your first time. And girls um…" My voice trailed off, getting swallowed by the walls of her bedroom.

Haruno smiled: a soft, tender smile, letting me know I had nothing to worry. "Don't worry, Hachiman." She kissed me, a soft peck on the lips, leaving me wanting for more. "The pleasure will override the pain in no time."

With her words, pushing up on her knees, keeping one hand still placed on my bare torso, while she used her other hand to reach down and grab hold of my throbbing erection, curling her fingers around me like before. Only this time she was leading me down to her untouched, unblemished, virginal entrance. She guided the hardened head, using it to brush her folds, moistening them, mingling both our respective heat, our distinctive essence and then everything was turned to pure mind boggling, eye bulging, skin tingling bliss: the bliss in finding her warmth, gradually rupture and bleed into red, molten heat, the unimaginable tightness baring me not a moment too soon, now trying trying to engulf me entirely into her, making me piston my hips up into her, while having her hips plummet down onto me in full force, gravity siding with her and working against me.

"Ah Fuh-huck!" I groaned, stopping myself from coming right then and there, by bringing to mind several grotesque images of a massacre, caused by Vlad the Impaler, to juxtapose the other image floating behind my closed eyelids, after succumbing to the pleasure of her heat, her tightness, her softness, her everything, wrapping themselves comfortably around me, like a second skin.

Finally, after all this waiting, we found ourselves joined together: One body, one mind, one soul, one heart. I felt her bend forward over me, pressing our chest together, sharing this new found warmth in this new light. I could clearly see a tear droplet nestled in the corner of her left eye. She blinked, repeatedly to remove it, but it was stubborn. I wiped it away from her eyes with a flick of my fingers. Then wrapping my hands around her back, I buried her into my chest, trying to hide her from everyone else in this rotten, despicable world, saving her for only me and no one else; definitely not some rich, influential bastard, wanting to have her for his bride and turn her into a baby-churning machine.

"Are you okay, Haruno?" I asked reaching up, raising my palms to cradle her face. "I didn't hurt you, right?"

She shook her head, trying to not give into the pain. This was hurting her. I tried to move, tried to do something to ease her pain. But she shook her head at me again, placing one of her hands on my shoulder to keep me down in my place. "I'm alright, Hachiman." She said, reassuringly, placing loving kisses on my chest, on my neck, on my lips. We moved in together in tandem: her each and every plunge finding and meeting my each and every thrust. While she kissed me on my mouth, I tangled my fingers in her hair, tilting her face sideways, to bring forth one of her more sensitive spots, right below her right ear, savouring the taste of her getting aroused and nibbling her earlobe in an afterthought, while making her moan out my name in quite a loud voice.

"Hachiman!" She cried out in pleasure.

But I detected a note of something else, an underlining primeval undertone in her voice too, a chain cutting loose, breaking down link by link. Smiling rather triumphantly down at me, Haruno exploited her advantageous position to the fullest extent, riding me up the slope of gratification and down the valley of pleasure. With me being nestled deep inside her, surrounded by her tight walls from all sides, trapped between the entrance afforded to me by the space between her thighs, I felt her suddenly going rigid from the abdomen, then flexing her muscles, her every tendon, like a raw nerve, contracting them, making them bow to her every whim and in turn making herself turn unbearable tight around me, further resulting in reducing me to a whimpering, growling and grunting man, incapable of stringing words to formulate a coherent sentence, until the flow of white hot pleasure shot through me and traversed into her, making her insides rapidly squirm and convulse, gradually breaking down in a glorious bundle of weak, vulnerable bones, her shiny, glistening skin, covering in a thin sheen of sweat, making her reek of lust and fornication.

But then everything turned back to normal: I felt her smilling down at me, gently trying to calm me down by kissing my neck, my throat, my cheeks, running her hand, down my sides, across my chest, over my shoulders, ducking her head beneath my chin and making me run my hand along her short, dark hair in a soothing manner.

"What was all that about?" I asked, stroking her hair, while she kept peppering kisses on my skin. My questions got lost in this new wave of affection we both found. This time around, she kissed the corner of my mouth, then moving sideways to tease my upper lip, making them part willingly for her to slip her tongue in and meet mine, making them mingle and twirl, pleasantly.

"Haruno?" I tried asking again, immediately after she broke the kiss and settled herself quietly over my body, feeling my heart beat against her palm, like the many times she had done this before. Haruno was trying to calm herself. "Everything alright?" I asked

"Yes," Haruno smiled, hooking her finger underneath my jaw, making me look upto her, when her eyes and mouth were intending to drive me down. "Everything is alright." Haruno mumbled, softly caressing my chin, her finger trailing low to make a design on my chest.

"We didn't use any protection," I said.

"Shhh-" Haruno silenced me by laying one solitary finger over my lips. "I have it covered. Everything will be fine, Hachiman. I promise." Haruno offered, lying back on to me, sighing deeply, taking in my scent, kissing me in the chest occasionally, stroking my nipples in thought, before slowly giving in to the urge to sleep.

"You will be with me, right?" Haruno asked, struggling to stay awake.

"Yes." I replied, kissing her cheek, "I will be here in the morning."

"Thank you." Haruno replied, "I hate waking up alone, Hachiman."

"Well…" I choked on the words. But decided to plough though with them "You don't have to wake up alone anymore, Haruno."

Haruno smiled. "Promise?" She raised her pinkie and tried to make me swear on this like we were little kids.

"Yes. I promised" I humoured her, raising my pinkie in promise.

Together we slept for the night. Not knowing what the future hold. But at this moment the both of us were happy, emotionally stable, finding a little bit of peace in our troubled lives. I ever dared to call this something silly like "Artificially Sound".

Haruno would probably laugh at it.

Good thing, I won't tell her.

-/-/-/-

A/N: **Boom! Finally wrote this down. Double Boom! This is the lemon! Triple Boom! The Haruno arc is officially over!**

Choices for the next arc:

Option one: Shizuka x Hachiman (Labcoat and Loner: After Party Arc)

Option two: Rumi x Hachiman (Clichés: Moving on arc.)

Please, pick one. And pick wisely ( **You will probably be stuck with the arc for at least 10 chapters** )

Please leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams.

-/-/-/-


	63. Chapter 63 Fools and That Day

Don't Own Oregairu.

Chapter 63: Fools and that day.

Universe: 12177757

"At least, the flowers are in good shape, sensei."

"…And I am not. Is that what you mean, Hikigaya?"

Hikigaya Hachiman looked at Hiratsuka Shizuka. His homeroom teacher was wasting away on her work desk. Her ashtray was kept near her elbow, a recently snuffed out cigarette stood ominously on the ashen surface, inclined in a horrible angle like a flag of surrender. One fleeting glance at the small paper calendar, kept near a pile of unchecked assignments, gave him a near perfect idea of her woes. However, despite having an easy and available solution to her problem on his lips, he chose to keep quiet and silently watched her sulk in a disgruntled manner on her desk.

"I brought chocolates."

"Oh. Um, good to know, sensei."

Chocolates. Of course, she brought them. Today was the day for chocolates and love. Hikigaya Hachiman would have cringed at the very idea in the past. Buying chocolates, making chocolates, anything remotely related to those sweet and sugary treats made him squirm, whenever he overheard them during an animated conversation between his classmates. Thank god for his headphones. He had no interest in knowing the latest victim of those treacherous, venomous confectioneries. Quite literally, in the case of Yuigahama. Hopefully, he had saved himself by choosing this particular moment to turn in his essay for today.

"But, um they got squashed."

"…Squashed?"

"Yeah, here take a look."

Hikigaya Hachiman watched his homeroom teacher take out a small parcel from the deepest recesses of her shoulder bag. Indeed, like she had said the parcel seemed to have fallen under the weight of a heavy object. From an outside perspective, they appeared completely ruined, squished beyond recognition and absolutely unappetizing.

"How did this happen, sensei?"

"…at on them."

"Huh? I didn't quite catch that sensei."

Hiratsuka Shizuka decided to give a voice to her rage. Fuming silently was not in her nature.

"I sat on them, okay! It was an accident. I worked on them all night. Stupid chocolate wouldn't melt properly. I had to make another batch. Anyway, I finally did it. After midnight, they were ready and tasted absolutely delicious. And I fell asleep happy with my chocolates. But dammit! I forgot to set the alarm and so I woke up late. I got dressed in a hurry, rushed into my car, drove here like crazy and when I finally thought, that this day might have, mind you might have, possibly been better than last year, reality decided to pull a fast one on me. And lo and behold! My pants were ruined, covered in chocolate bits. I didn't even realize I had sat on them, until after I got out from my car. Can you believe that, Hikigaya? Well can you?"

Hikigaya Hachiman had listened to her rant in a rather silent manner. He wondered whether this was similar to the number of times his homeroom teacher had to listen to him go on and on about real life problem like youth and its lies. In the end, he decided not to draw a comparison between the two. He would rather dwell on furnishing her a suitable answer.

"Um, I can get that. It was an honest mistake, sensei. I am sure lots of people sit on stuff, everyday."

"…You are mocking me, Hikigaya."

"Of course not! I am not an idiot, sensei."

"Hey! What the hell does that mean, Hikigaya?"

Oh God. His sensei was now trying to find a source to address her tumultuous grievances and the likely candidate, like always, was none other than him and his poor decrypt body. He would already be getting a punch to his gut courtesy of the essay he wrote. He couldn't be bother about it. The day of today was not a suitable topic to write an intellectual dissertation on. Perhaps one day he might be called to write a treaty to ban the ludicrous celebration following this artificial day of merriment. Alas, democracy demanded a steep price. The day would never come, he knew.

"It means, I am not making fun of you, sensei."

"Well, I am pretty sure someone is laughing at my misery."

Her voice sounded bitter, he noticed. He further watched her, while she opened the top of the ruined parcel, gingerly held up a few crumbling pieces of gooey chocolate in between her dainty little fingers and then, rather carelessly popped them into her open mouth, without further any thought. She licked the chocolate crumbs sticking to her fingers in an absentminded manner. Hikigaya Hachiman abruptly felt the need to take a small swig from the water bottle he had left behind in his school bag. His throat had gone dry for a reason, he didn't want to know.

"Pity, they taste rather delicious."

His sensei remarked in a forlorn manner. Hikigaya Hachiman knew the ritual associated with today. Girls either bought chocolates. Or they brought chocolates, based on their subtle psychological and subconscious selves, pulling the strings of their life, participating in a play, dramatized by their peers, for the sick pleasures of civilized society. Her sensei, however, was denied a part in the play. Like always, he was there to bear witness.

"You made them by hand?"

"Didn't I just say that, Hikigaya?"

Once again the bitterness in her voice rang true. He knew there were several types of chocolates. He was particularly familiar with the obligatory kind. They were mostly bought from stores in an afterthought, almost at the base and cheapest of prices. Quality and quantity was overlooked. Like the name said, it was an ugly obligation thrust on the shoulders under the guise of proper etiquette and behavior.

Yet, his sensei made those chocolates. She made them by hand: worked on them, toiled on them, burned the midnight oil in a metaphoric sense and shed blood and sweat over in a more literal sense. His dead fish eyes had seen the band-aid, halfheartedly pasted over the tip of her index finger. It was probably the result of a small cut, received from a sharp knife, while dicing these pieces of chocolates, into perfect, square shapes for the purpose of suitable decoration and arrangement. Those seem entirely unnecessary. She made them by her hands. Real effort went into them. Those should have been enough. But like always, his sensei never believed in half measures; not even over the obligatory kind.

"Can I…"

He dared.

"Go right ahead."

She dared back.

The small piece of crumbling chocolate, deposited into his open palm was a warning. He hated the day. He hated this day so much. Yet, that piece of chocolate made the hate he felt towards this day lessen only a little bit. Hikigaya Hachiman felt the chocolate melt into his mouth. Like, she said already, it was absolutely delicious.

"Happy Valen…"

The words got caught in his throat like the bone of a poorly fried fish. He swallowed his words, chose to ignore the pained look in her eyes and cleared his throat in a proper manner, while trying in vain to distract her by placing his essay on her desk, in a loud and clumsy manner.

"Yeah. Happy Valentine's Day, Hikigaya."

His sensei was a kind and brave woman. Her smile was infectious. But she was intelligent as well. Her tone was aloof, indifferent. Only the brush of her fingers across the petal of her flowers, gave him any indication of her investment in this statement.

Yes, Hikigaya Hachiman was intelligent as well. But he couldn't be kind like her. It was not in his nature. And according to Yukinoshita, the only things infectious about him were the germs he supposedly carried around in his body, aptly dubbed, 'Hiki-germs' by said queen of ice. However, he decided he could be brave for her.

'Happy Valentine's Day, sensei.'

To his credit, Hikigaya Hachiman said these words entirely in his mind. At least he took comfort and found solace in the courage to utter these words in his mind.

'That's something,' he said to himself, hopelessly.

-/-/-/-

A/N:

And the Shizuka arc is underway. As you might guess this takes place in the 'Labcoats and Loners Universe'. There will be a couple of time skips and lots of stuff later. But I decided to start this off with something simple.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams.


	64. Chapter 64 Not A Fool

Don't Own Oregairu

Universe 12177757

Chapter 64: Not a Fool.

"Hey Hikigaya, where did you get that flower?"

"Ah sensei! You startled me. Poor Komachi almost had a heart attack you know."

Hiratsuka Shizuka was walking down the corridor, one hand busy trying to get a box of cigarettes out of the front pocket of her labcoat, while she fiddled with her Zippo lighter in an absentminded manner. The sight of Hikigaya Komachi, coming down from the opposite direction of the same corridor, bouncing on the balls of her feet, practically giddy, while holding onto a white lily, made her a slightly bit annoyed.

Shizuka: "You didn't answer my question Hikigaya, where did you get that flower?"

Komachi: "Oh you mean this one sensei. Why onii-chan gave it to me."

Hikigaya Komachi was always a cheerful presence. She was happy to be around and a good conversationalist, everything her brother was not. When she got her admission into Sobu High, Hiratsuka Shizuka noticed, that his older brother kept a bit of distance from his younger sibling. When Shizuka had confronted him about this, he had given her only a confusing reply: 'It's for her own good.' Needless to say, Shizuka had not understood him. But he had been rather tight-lipped about it and she had not pressed the issue.

Shizuka: "So, I guess everything is alright with you and your brother."

Komachi: "Yup. My poor onii-chan was being his gomi-chan self. We had a misunderstanding. Nothing else. It's solved now."

Shizuka: "And I am guessing, the flower has something to do with this, right."

Komachi: "You got it sensei. Onii-chan can be smooth when he wants to be. Although I think it was a bit of a sly move. Everyone knows girls are a sucker for flowers. "

Shizuka: "Well not everyone. I mean I certainly can't be swayed by a couple of flowers you know."

Komachi: "Ah, but sensei, you are a bit old to be called a girl, right? Tehee~"

Shizuka: "Why you stupid brat. You and your brother are just the same. Making fun of me all the time. I am a teacher goddammit!"

Komachi: Oh cheer up sensei. I am sure onii-chan will give you some flowers next time.

Shizuka: "He damn well- Oh shit!"

Hikigaya Komachi was the younger sister of Hikigaya Hachiman. It didn't always show but she was every bit his brother's sister, sans the dead fish eyes and rotten behaviour, that is. Even now, Hiratsuka Shizuka could catch a glimpse of the small smile on her lips, reminiscent of him. Shizuka cursed herself for not thinking this through. She had blurted out a secret. A horrible, dreadful, near scandalous secret. Now she was in the mercy of Hikigaya Komachi. And between the two of them, there could be no doubt that Komachi loved her precious gomi-chan more.

Komachi: "You are cute sensei. Not cuter than me. But still cute. So, I will tell you what, you don't punch my onii-chan in the gut for a week and I will tell him that girls these days go for the classics. With some luck, onii-chan will think of roses."

Shizuka: I-Komachi-san, Hikigaya and I are not…

Komachi: "Teehee~ Have a good day sensei."

…And just like that within a couple of days, there was a solitary red rose found inside the top drawer of her work desk. She kept her secret stash of alcohol in there. So, it was always locked. But the lock wasn't picked.

'Damn, these Hikigaya siblings are scary.' Shizuka thought, twirling the rose stem in between her fingers.

-/-/-/-

A/N: Okay last short chapter. The next one is going to have the fabled, **Shizuka Car Wash Scene.**

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams.


	65. Chapter 65 Foolish Car Wash

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 65: Foolish Car wash (Fail!)

Universe: 12177757

"You and I are betting on words

You and I are wandering worlds apart from each other joined at the heart."

Hikigaya Hachiman always knew beforehand when a fight was lost. He gave up quickly, surrendered to the victor outright and looked at his rival in the eye, while they boasted of their achievement in defeating him in an almost insignificant skirmish. Hence, his current clash with the summer heat was a foregone conclusion.

"You and I are escaping the Earth

Tasting tears for all that its worth apart from each other joined by a thought."

He admitted his brutal defeat in the hands of the blistering heat, took refuge underneath the cool shade of an inconspicuous tree and sipped the cool contents of his glass of flavoured soft drink, while keeping his eyes trained on a solitary figure, carrying a bucket of water in one hand and inspecting her car with a kind of fondness, more akin to high school crush.

"Can you believe me?"

He knew the look quite well. Nowadays, he saw it every time he looked in a mirror. But by simply watching her, seeing the same look on her face, reflected back from the hood of her car, he felt a little bit perturbed. Such kind of love for a car surely must seem unhygienic. Regardless, he was happy to watch his sensei, partake in the normal exercise of washing her car, while he felt safe in the knowledge, that his presence in her immediate vicinity, had been rendered quiet inconspicuous, like the very tree currently shading him from the summer heat. But her voice carried through to him. Curse the summer breeze and his sensitive ears. She was singing, moving her body, swaying her hips to a song and for an instant his breath got caught in his throat. His sensei had a lovely voice. The song was not doing her justice. Neither was her goddamn car.

"Still sitting pretty with a pistol in hand

Living to love you will you be my man?"

Hiratsuka Shizuka trailed her fingers on the dark, red surface of her car, a fond smile on her face, reminiscing back to the day when this hunking beast of a machine had become hers. In a world, constantly crumbling around her, this was her one and only constant. Quite literally serving as a gateway car, to take her away from all her troubles, which nowadays included a certain rotten dead fished eyed loner, her misplaced feelings for him and his surely confused feelings for her. They never talked about this, although there could never be nothing to talk about when it came to them. She was pretty sure he liked her. Loved her even, considering he was him, always keeping to himself, guarding himself from nice girls and ice queens and fire queens and evil onee-sans and the list goes on and on. Playing the fool, being outright dumb and stupid to serve his purpose, he was adamant to avoid the notion of love altogether. The irony was not lost on neither of them. Both of them hated the word love. They treated it like an ugly truth, a horrible secret. Yet, they were in love.

"If I beg, if I plead.

Would you please, please, please, satisfy me?"

Hiratsuka Shizuka smiled forlornly in thought. The bucket of bubbles winked at her playfully. She was aware of him standing underneath the tree. He might seem inconspicuous to most, able to blend in with the surrounding but like always he stood out to her. Dead fish eyes hidden behind shades, ahoge dancing in the summer breeze, the rotten idiot was taking in her appearance and trying to play it cool, trying very hard not to get affected from the sight of her dressed in daisy dukes and cut offs. The sunlight glistened sharply against her ankle bracelet. He had a thing for legs, she noticed. From past experiences she realised this was quiet tame in comparison to a couple of her past dates. Not like they were dating. She would call it hanging out. A teacher and student could hang out. There would come a time to justify her actions. She was older. She was supposed to know better. But at the moment, there was only her beloved car, a bucket of water on the lawn, a sponge clutched in her hand and a rotten idiot in her mind as well as her very own backyard.

"Anything goes in this cosmic dare

Anything goes so take care"

Hiratsuka Shizuka bent forward, her arms sinking into the foamy surface of water. She smiled at the small contrast. The surface of her car was already hot from staying underneath the sun. But the bucket containing the soap water was pleasantly cold. Washing her car seemed like a good idea. Inviting him, not so much. The soap suds left a soft, wet trail down her elbow, while the sponge soaked in the surplus water, growing heavy in her hand, now slick with bubbles of different sizes, which burst at the faintest of movements.

"Did you feel my heart beat to your lies"

She draped herself on the hood of her car, bending over the metallic surface and creating a healthy lather of soap and foam on the hot metallic surface. She was aware of the stickiness of her clothes, they had gotten wet from her efforts, and were now slowly turning transparent, the bikini top she chose to wear underneath getting visible from each hefty scrub; the same red like her car. Her breasts swayed from every movement. She washed her car in a thorough manner, pressing her breasts to the hood, nipples rubbing, getting flattened on the now bubbly, wet exterior of the once hot, metallic surface.

"Listen close sweet love of mine."

Hiratsuka Shizuka heard a mad scramble, a crash, a lot of yelling. Looking back, she saw her backyard devoid of on certain, rotten dead fished eye loner. She assumed he had climbed the wall, intruded on her neighbours, surprised the hell out of them with his appearance and somehow made it out with his life. Clearly giving him a show was not the way to explore the summer holidays.

"Guess it's just you and me, handsome." Shizuka murmured to her car, now once again reaching for the bucket.

-/-/-/-

A/N: Well, this was kinda disappointing. I mean, 8man just bolted. Damn the Labcoats Universe sucks. I really wanted him to watch. But I just couldn't do it. Well no worries. When he is out of school, well then, he can watch Shizuka be sexy all the time.

Hint: Fools wash a car (Success!)

Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams.

-/-/-/-

P.S. Would you guys like a dark back-story for how or why Shizuka is Shizuka? I couldn't focus on the sexy bits today because I kept thinking about what kinda past she had and I thought of this really dark, angsty, heartbreaking piece of story. It could explain so much.

Okay I will write it anyway.


	66. Chapter 66 A Fool Dares

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 66: A Fool Dares.

Universe: 12177757

Hikigaya Hachiman looked at the clutter on his desk: the pages of dictionaries swaying in the gentle breeze of exhaustion and weariness, the back light of his mobile screen gradually fading back to black, entering into an artificial mode of sleep, the blank pages lying in the very middle of his desk, staring back upto him from their fathomless depths, with nothing but a pen to weigh them down from slipping away from his grasp only to leave him to his melancholic ministrations.

He looked at the clock, taking note of the passage of time, moments spent in thought, dreading the method of his own choosing to communicate, coming face to face with his own cowardice, while knowing the risks at stake- the complete and utter ruination of a cherished bond, created over the course of three eventful years, which would surely last a lifetime.

Only problem was, Hikigaya Hachiman was being selfish, entertaining the notion of love and avoiding the cool, rational thinking conjured by his rotten brain, ignoring to heed the advice of the monster of logic, warning him against the dire fallout of just getting a piece of paper, picking up a random pen and jotting down his feelings for her in neat bullet points and precise paragraphs, managing to reduce his heartfelt confession into nothing more than just another homework assignment, another essay to be handed to her tomorrow, like he had done on several past occasions.

But there was no tomorrow for him. His lips curled upwards in a sad, pathetic smile at the thought. The Graduation Ceremony always marked a new beginning for each and every student, a rite of passage into adulthood, where they are entrusted to become a productive member of society, soon capable to lead their respective lives in a mundane, monotonous manner: keeping their heads down, noses to the grindstone, getting a small piece of cookie for a hard day's work.

Hikigaya Hachiman abhorred the concept, although he knew very well that he would be partaking in the same system: seeking out employment opportunities at every available establishment, holding onto a couple of part time jobs, to at least have a semblance of a steady source of income at his disposal and adding every meagre achievements into lengthening his résumé for that illustrious job offer, which might never come within his grasp and ultimately force him to simply give up and turn into a corporate slave like his father.

But at this very moment choosing to lead a life more akin to his father seemed quite fulfilling enough. He was married to the love of his life, his lovely mother who loved his father very much, despite his numerous failing and shortcomings and made him into a much better person, capable of displaying love and affection in those once rotten dead fish eyes, at least for his family: his wife, his daughter, his cat and even his son.

Unfortunately, genetics had played a cruel prank on him and he had ended up inheriting those same eyes from his father. When he was mere toddler, being bullied repeatedly at school and in the playgrounds, he had complained to his mother about them and his mother like the good, nurturing mother she was, had held him close, comforting and consoling him, while telling him how when he would met someone in his future, like his father had met her in their past, then his eyes too would change and everything would be much happier, much more pleasant than his present circumstance.

-/-/-/-

Looking back, even then he had thought of his mother's words was more like an anecdote derived from a fairy tale. But nowadays he caught a glimpse of his reflection every now and then. The same dead fish eyes stared back at him. Nothing much had changed in his appearance. He had definitely grown taller over the past couple of years and like his every other insignificant accomplishment, his sensei was there to bear witness to his growth, while making him feel self-conscious about the same, when she trapped him in an awkward hug in a rather abrupt manner.

Hikigaya Hachiman was the close proximity between them, aware of her arms reaching upwards, moving in between his upper limbs, crossing over his upper body and then finally wrapping themselves around the back of his neck, making them come together in an embrace even he might dare to deem both affectionate and loving.

Hachiman: "Sensei?"

Shizuka: "…I was thinking about tomorrow."

Like always he chose to play the fool for her: forcing his voice to sound mildly confused and puzzled, schooling his facial expressions to appear shocked and alarmed and finally making his body language appear rigid and inflexible when coming in contact with hers. He was the textbook idiot. He would never dare to add even a hint of romantic connotation to this embrace.

Hachiman: "And?"

Shizuka: "…It made me feel sad."

The monster of logic reasoned desperation to be the vicious instigator for this form of physical contact between the two of them. The graduation ceremony was tomorrow. The beginning of the end was upon them and this was just the two of them reacting to the news, making it a part of their respective system, while knowing from tomorrow everything would change:

He would not be her student.

She would not be his sensei.

Shizuka: "You won't forget about me, will you?"

Hikigaya Hachiman heard the tone of vulnerability in her voice. He hated it. Likewise he hated himself for whatever role he managed to wrangle himself into which was causing her such a level of hurt. He was responsible for her discomfort and the solution to alleviate her pain had presented itself in the most unlikeliest of ways imaginable to him.

Hachiman: "Never."

For once he knew, words would not be enough to convince her. He instead resorted to indulge in physical contact of a similar nature by placing one of his hands on her back, palms hovering over the fabric of her labcoat for a second before gently lowering themselves at the lower side of her spine, while maintaining a respectable distance from the rise of her hips. He wondered whether he was successful in returning in the embrace. Highly unlikely, he thought. But a moment later, he felt her fingers tousle the hair in the back of his neck in a manner which he found rather pleasant, making him reluctantly more agreeable to the concept of physical contact in the form of hugs and embraces.

Shizuka: "This is not uncomfortable is it?"

Hachiman: "You tell me, sensei. I am the one who's inexperienced."

He felt a small tremor course through his body and knew immediately that he had made her give into the temptation of simply laughing at the mention of her age. By now he supposed he had made it abundantly clear that he did not care for the difference between their years. There was quite a visible age gap between them. She was significantly older than him and that would never change. Only a fool would think that he could ever catch up to her. He played the fool for her to guard himself from the savage truth. But everyone who came to know him should have also known by now that he was not that kind of fool. Only idiots asked the person they loved to wait for them, actually phrased it to sound like they had to wait for them to do the quite literal growing up. But that was not the case with him. He would not pull the wool on her eyes. Not make her a fool for him.

Shizuka: "You know, I don't think we have ever hugged before, Hikigaya. Kinda strange when we think about it, don't you think?"

Hachiman: Hmm. I never thought about it like that, sensei. Guess I don't see myself as exactly huggable."

Shizuka: "What Nonsense! You can be a good h-hugger. Here I will show you."

He felt her palm hover awkwardly over his chest, her vivid, violet eyes searching his rotten dead fish ones for any sign of discomfort on his end. Satisfied by her initial scrutiny, he then felt her press her palm into his chest, her hand gently trying to clutch the fabric of his shirt and leaving creases in its wake, while her other arm gradually lowered itself from his neck, ran down his back and came to warp itself around his waist. He was suddenly made aware of the differences between their bodies, rather rudely and distinctly made aware of the fact that his homeroom teacher was a beautiful woman. She always chose to hide under the garb and guise of her overflowing labcoat. But he had a functioning pair of eyes, rotten dead fish ones in fact. He knew her breasts were on the larger side. But having those same breasts of hers, pressed into his upper torso, was the kind of knowledge he was not made privy to in their numerous past exchanges and conversations. Once again, the lack of physical contact between them was made uncomfortably aware to them in this fleeting display of weakness and affection.

Hachiman: "W-well, thank you for showing me, sensei. But I don't feel like signing up for a free hugs campaign anytime soon."

Shizuka: "Oh? Not even for your club mates?"

Hachiman: "…Yuigahama gets a handshake at best."

Shizuka: "Haha! Rude."

He made her laugh and it made him smile a silent smile of his own. He was taller than her now, he noticed. She had pressed her body into his to strengthen their embrace, tucking her head safely beneath his jaw line and resting the side of her cheeks to his chest, while one of her fingers fiddled with the collar of his shirt in a display of marked tension.

Shizuka: "Huh. You became taller than me. When did that happen, Hikigaya?"

Hachiman: "Last summer, I think. Also, I was only a little shorter than you, sensei. Moreover, you wore heels."

Shizuka: "Sheesh! Someone's sensitive. Size doesn't matter to me, Hikigaya."

Hachiman: "…I think you mean height, sensei."

Hiratsuka Shizuka blushed at the implication. The innocence of their shared embrace was slowly ebbing away, moving along with the flow and giving place to those emotions and feelings which were always thrown away into the deeper recesses of his mind. He was acutely aware of her hands stroking his back, making his skin sprout goose bumps at her touch and of her fingers which were slowly turning into his unbecoming: massaging his neck, his chest in a manner he found quite stirring, down to his very rotten and despicable soul. When, he felt her tug him down, bringing his face far closer to hers for either of their comfort, both their lips a breath away from finally meeting each other, he felt like seizing the day, making the most of it. To hell with consequences! But he kept her fingers hooked beneath his jaw line, exercising a form of control neither of them were feeling.

Shizuka: "Don't be a tease, Hikigaya."

Hachiman: "…U-understood, sensei."

Hiratsuka Shizuka smiled at him: a kind, affectionate smile not meant to be exchanged between a student and a homeroom teacher. But like him she wanted to be selfish today. Tomorrow was the graduation ceremony. Everything would change. He hated change. Yet, it was inevitable. Like everyone else he would also be leaving her to her lonesome. There would be no more scheduled tutoring sessions. Definitely no more flowers. She would miss him dearly. More than she cared to admit. But she will be happy for him nonetheless. But that would all happen tomorrow. Not now. Not at this moment. Her selfishness was earned and much deserved.

Shizuka: "Hikigaya?"

Hachiman: "Hmm?"

Hiratsuka Shizuka allowed her hands to linger on his shoulders and she took only half a step back from him to break their embrace. Her eyes never left his and his hands remained rooted on her waist. She knew he was about to remove his hands from her body any second now. But like hers they lingered on their own volition. Despite herself, she felt a glimmer of happiness shine through the dark clouds. It gave her strength to carry on.

Shizuka: "I know I am being extremely presumptuous about this. But is there something you want to tell me?"

She waited and waited for him to gather his courage. But then he felt his hands rescind from her waist and immediately she knew he was not going to say those words to her. He was going to bury the truth. Play the fool. She hated that! Hate it so much. She was not an idiot like those stupid girls-

Hachiman: "…Tomorrow."

Shizuka: "Huh?"

Hikigaya Hachiman looked into her eyes, choosing to keep his voice calm and collected, while trying to make his meaning succinctly clear to the woman, who was turning his rotten dead fish eyes into a pair of seemingly normal ones. Like his mother did her father, he thought. Then, immediately grimaced at his poor choice of words; he did not need the image.

Hachiman: "I will tell you tomorrow, sensei."

Shizuka: "What's wrong with telling me now?"

Hikigaya Hachiman wanted to laugh at the sight of her lips forming a cute little pout of her own. Yes, he loved her and he was seriously having trouble, controlling his urge not to try and kiss her pouting lips. Kissing her was now a thought he fathomed. He had truly changed.

Hachiman: "Are you aware of the phrase 'Koi no yokan', sensei?"

But something would never change.

Shizuka: "…I teach modern Japanese, Hikigaya. Of course I am aware of the phrase."

It was a good thing something never would change. He liked the blush marring her cheeks, her shyness, her tenderness, her initial disbelief and then, her acceptance and rebuttal. Likewise, he loved the Japanese language for making a clear distinction between two separate meanings.

Only idiots fell for love at first sight.

He was a fool.

It was different.

Hachiman: "Well, like I said. I will tell you tomorrow, sensei."

Shizuka: "O-okay. I will be waiting."

'You are not the only one, Shizuka.' He thought, daring to pat the front pocket of his shirt, containing the letter of his most arduous of confessions. Then, daring yet again he took out the letter and tossed it into the garbage bin.

A letter was not his style.

He would bring flowers.

"Komachi said something about roses, hmm." He thought yet again.

-/-/-/-

A/N (1): This chapter is dedicated to **'smilingsamurai'** for giving me the wonderful idea of making 8man finally graduate. Hope you liked it.

A/N (2): Damn! Just my luck. As soon as I started the Shizuka Arc (Labcoats and Loners Universe), I fell sick, fever and cold and everything. Sorry about the poor writing everyone. But I can't focus on the sexy chapters or the dark, back-story chapters. I will write it eventually.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams.

-/-/-/-


	67. Chapter 67 Fools Fool Around

Don't Own Oregairu

Universe: 12177757

Chapter 67: Fools Fool Around.

Hikigaya Hachiman once thought he had everything figured out. In the dark, depressing world, they lived in, a person like him would be left by his lonesome, forgotten from memory, removed from existence and slowly, swallowed whole by the savagery of civilised society. But here he was, being remembered, being cherished and yes, being loved.

High school seemed like a distant memory, a black and white remnant from his past, where he refused to share the colours of happiness. He had graduated, he had moved on. Yet, he had not. He had fallen in love.

He gave a wry smile at the thought, thinking of the woman he had come to love over the years. At least he hoped it was years. He did not want to make her feel awkward and creepy. Curse his youth. Once again it was creating problems for him. But at least his feeling were returned and not laughed at. He was thankful and glad. He had her. His Shizuka. They were together. He was happy. She smiled at him, crawled over to his side of the bed and kissed him. Hard. Waking up in the morning never felt better.

Tenderness seemed unwarranted, gentleness a mere formality and innocence was thrown out the window beforehand. He liked the wet, warm sensation of her lips on his, her glorious thighs clamping down on his sides, making him grow weak from the waist down, making his throat go dry, her hands fisting the fabric of his sleep shirt, making the creases deeper, fingers slipping through the gaps between open buttons and then splaying across his bare chest, making his muscles flex involuntarily. The mere sight of her astride him is too much. He looks up at her, taking in her feminine figure, each curve, her softness, her warmth, the touch of her skin on his skin, the friction of limbs, the barest of fluid motions, down his legs, the firm and solid wiggle of her shapely hips on his lower abdomen, making him groan in an elicit manner, then making him nurse a legitimate fear of creaming his pants, when the sensation of her grinding on him, in a slow, sensual rhythm finally settles the unsettling feeling in his nether regions.

Shizuka gives him a smile. It's salacious. It's scandalous. It makes him hard. She notices. Looks pleased, continues the good work, working him like an expert and the thought of her past experience and his own lack thereof, refuses to dampen his mood. He is up and about. Dirty brain making a mess. Soon, it will be more literal of a mess.

"Shizuka…" He groans her name, a prayer on his lips, a sermon for a deity. His hands find her waist, keep her balanced, grinding onto him in a steady rhythm, each bounce, jiggle, wiggle, doing wonders and blunders both in his mind. The palms of his hand find her hips of their own accord. Squeezes. Shizuka squeals in delight.

"You are naughty." Shizuka replies, her voice husky, throaty and replaying several caustic emotions which works for him, making his insides mushy, brain leaking out from his ears. He looks at her eyes. Amethyst shade holds him at her mercy. He would beg. She would be kind. Oblige his sweet release.

"You are sexy." He sputters, holding onto her hips for dear life.

Shizuka laughs, "You say the sweetest things." her voice, her body, the rocking, back and forth, the hardness, the softness, the sensation of pain trapped between his pants, his groans, her moans- he is beyond comprehension. "You make me wet, Hachiman."

Shit. Fuck. His eloquent, sophisticated vocabulary shot to hell. He knows not how to respond. This is different. Beyond his league. He feels inept. He feels weak. He feels unworthy. But then her lips are on his and he thinks he is alive, breathing, in and out, in through the nose, out through the mouth. His chest rises and falls. Her fingers, her nails, her palms, stretch over his chest, feels the rhythm. His heart beats. Beats and beats and he feels like ripping it out of his chest and giving it to her, to show her it beats for her. Because when words fail him, he reverts back to action. Like an idiot in love.

"G-ood to know." He sqeaks in reply and then he stops breathing altogether. His voice makes a sound, a gurgle of bundled emotions and confusion and he knows he is embarrassing himself. But Shizuka is a Goddess. She is kind. She overlooks his silliness.

"This okay?" She asks.

"I-Yes." He nods.

She is asking him whether it is okay to touch him. Her hands, skilled and experienced do not shake and she is forward and he likes her even more. Her hands find their way, slip thorough and he knows, she is trying to and succeeding in rubbing him to his sweet release. The groans, the pants of breath she extricates from his mouth are hot and loud. He feels idiotic. Shizuka is rubbing him off. He is enjoying this too much. But who can blame him. Shizuka makes the sweetest, most cutest of faces, concentrating, her cheeks pink, lovely. He kisses her. Distracts her. She laughs. He feels a tug at his nether regions. He is not pleased. He was feeling a good pain. Now he feels pain-pain. Not good at all.

"I am sorry" Shizuka giggles, "It's just, you surprised me."

He huffs, "Great. What every guy wants to hear. 'You surprised me!'"

Shizuka smiles, takes his hand, "Oh don't feel bad." Slips them inside her sleep shorts. "This time you can surprise me."

…She is not wearing panties.

-/-/-/-/-

"Fuck!" Hachiman wakes, chest heaving, breathing loudly, sweating through the sheets. Unsurprisingly enough, there is no Shizuka in his bed. He had a lousy dream.

"Well a fool can dream, right?" He thought, mournfully.

-/-/-/-

A/N: And the story is back. Shizuka arc is about to get hot and heavy.

Here are the options for the next chapter(s)

Option one: Shizuka and Hachiman take it slow.

Option two: Shizuka and Hachiman mess things up.

Please pick one.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams.


	68. Chapter 68 Resetting

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 68: Resetting

Universe: 8236094

"Give me your number, Hikio."

Memories are a curse, he decides. Those fateful words had created this mess, uttered by the succulent lips of one of his many lovers. Pity, he could not address her in a more enamoured manner, kiss her, take her lips in his and devour her in the throes of passion, like he had done on multiple occasions, over many folded times, in a multitude of different time streams. He was the closest thing to an omnipotent being, nigh omnipotent when he deemed it fit for his purpose. But here he was feeling the jitters reminiscent of 'his' counterpart. This Miura had missed him, he feared. No matter. The problem could be salvaged. He knew the drill. He had done this on multiple occasions. He was Hikigaya Hachiman. Not 'the' Hikigaya Hachiman needing her number, but a Hikigaya Hachiman none the less. He would suffice her needs.

"You already have it, I fear." He replied, smoothly.

"Huh?" Miura looked alarmed by his reply. Perhaps, smiling while replying to her was a bit unnerving for her at this moment of time; he was scaring her, he realised. The thought made him experience a smidge of uneasiness. He almost laughed at his discomfort. A god made uneasy by a high schooler. How… diminutive.

"May, I have your phone?" He drawled, offering her his hands. He had replaced the smile with a dull look, permeating over his face like a mask. He should be wary of using this; the subtle nuances of suggestion could prove quite amoral in this moment of time. He could manipulate her, take advantage of her. The thought was displeasing.

"Okay." Miura handed him her phone. The look in her eyes, the change in body language, the unusual openness in demeanour, the show of vulnerability; he pursed his lips. This would not do. He was about to re-write an entire universe. He could not go about disgracing one of its quintessential vestibules. Miura was important in the equation. The 'he' of this world needed her. He however, did not. But he could be graceful. Polite even.

"There you see." He replied, showing her his number. "You already had my number." A bare touch of his fingers had transferred the information to her. He did not even have to visit the stream to perform such a lowly feat. Indeed, the eons had been kind. He was getting good at being God. Once upon a life time, he would have cringed at the thought. Now he almost smiled.

"But how?" Miura looked puzzled. "I don't understand." Indeed, he had forgotten how cute she looked when she was in high school. She had nice legs, even still. He came to admire her, love her over the eons. Every one of her, each of her. There was the actress her from that universe, trying to reconnect with her friend Ebina, only to find herself enthralled by that version of 'him.' Then there was the lawyer, the ruthless shark, the woman with the sniper rifle, who shot him in the other world, where the 'he' was a bit misbalanced, creating and finding worlds in a mindless journal in his head. Then, there was the silly girl version of her, trying to go up against her betters, the Yukinoshita sisters, trying to take on both of them in a godforsaken café. That Miura made him laugh. But in a good way. Ah, there were many. Many women, many worlds, many times; yet he had to subjugate himself, drown himself in this drab little world of displacement. The very creation was doomed.

"Believe me, Miura." He replied, silkily. "You had my number all along." He smiled, "We are friends right." He felt a smidge of guilt, forcing his inert miasma to dilute her thoughts. In a way, he was taking advantage of her. But he could not waste his time over a little school girl. He had different matters to tend to.

"I believe you, Hikio." Miura replied. Her voice held a ghostly tinge to it.

Hikigaya Hachiman smiled. He knew every 'him' cursed the god of romantic comedy for the misfortune. Pity, they never realised, they were cursing one of them. Though, he abhorred to think of himself like a God, especially such a silly god like that of God of Romantic comedy.

No. he preferred to think of himself as a visitor.

Yes, it was more appropriate.

-/-/-/-/-

Universe: 12177757

"Fuck" Hachiman wakes up, chest heaving, breathing loudly, sweating through the sheets. Unsurprisingly enough, there is no Shizuka in his bed. He had a lousy dream.

"Well a fool can dream, right?" He thought mournfully.

"Yes, he can." A voice answered, "Although you might ponder the Freudian concepts of dreams from time to time. Food for thought, simply put. I know how much you like to think, Hachiman."

Hikigaya Hachiman looked at the intruder, invading the privacy of his bedroom, this early in the morning. He blinked, rubbed his eyes, then blinked again. No. This was not possible. He was still dreaming, right?

"I am seeing things right?" He asked, unnerved by the other person. "Did Yukinoshita slip a hallucinogen into my cup of tea or something yesterday?"

"Funny you should say that." The intruder replied, smiling, "I just visited another place before coming here and let me tell you, that 'him' would have said the same thing to Miura of all people. I know joking is not our forte. Not of any of us. But why do we even try. I will never understand."

Hachiman looked alarmed. No this was problematic. He looked at his desk. The intruder followed his eyes, a tinge of sarcasm was laced in his voice. "I have visited literally infinite number of worlds, you know." The intruder sighed, "I have been shot at by two Hachimans. Well to be fair, one of them was slightly imbalance in the head. I wouldn't blame him. And he had suffered so much. Seen so much death. But the other one just shot me because he was an asshole. He was angry because I was spoiling his date with Ebina. Well, the jokes on him. He has an affair, ruins his chances with her. Pity, she was a good girl. Ebina I mean. Though Miura is nice too. But I digress. I had another two Hachiman come at me with mostly harmless things. One threw a flower vase at me. It created a lot of mess. Lilies, hyacinths, roses, everywhere. It was awful. The other one did some damage. Tried to hit me with a frying pan. He was making breakfast for Rumi. Again, I don't blame him. Well at least not much. We are a bit cranky without coffee in the morning. Then there was the one who locked me in the bathroom with Haruno, Yukino and Yui. He was truly a genius. I didn't see it coming. We were in a godforsaken café. The food was great though. The one who did the most damage was actually in an infirmary. Ironic, I know. But he had a bad day. I mean, he was at breaking point. Saki, Yukino, Shizuka, all coming together. And he was injured. I don't blame him either." The intruder paused, a look of contentment coming onto him, "I wonder whether this makes me more like a God. Not blaming those who are surely to be blamed."

Hachiman looked confused at the words, "Um, I am not dreaming? Then you are real."

"Oh yes." The intruder replied, "You can check. I believe you were trying to read a book to verify whether this was all a dream or not. Feel free to try it out. Here let me help you."

Hachiman watched in wonder. The intruder closed his eyes. But then the same closed eyes glowed from behind their eyelids. It was quite a scary scene. He gulped. But then he felt a weight on his lap. Looking down he saw a book. It was new, he had never seen it. But he knew the write.

"Yes, quite narcissist of me, I know." The intruder replied, "But you will find the style of writing relaxing. After all its eerily familiar to all of us, written by one of us, as is the case."

Hachiman blinked, "I don't understand. This is written by you." He asked.

"No this is written by a Hachiman." He thought for a moment, "Well in a sense you can say it is written by me. As it can be said, this is written by you. From a different universe, from a different time and at a different age; it seems confusing. But it's not I assure you."

Hachiman balked, "I am feeling strange."

The intruder balked, "Indeed. It seemed my miasma has finally done its work. The universe is being ripped from your existence. You are feeling the aftershocks of the debacle. Don't fret."

Hachiman was feeling nauseas, "I didn't understand a word you just said."

The intruder sighed, "Simply put. I am a surgeon performing a brain transplant. You are the brain. This universe is the body."

Hachiman rubbed his stomach. "I don't feel well"

The intruder gave him a look, "You are gonna feel a lot worse. But for now let's take you home."

He could feel the world collapsing on his. An entire world vanishing and appearing, blinking in and out of existence; he felt his body shake and before he knew it, he was gone.

-/-/-/-/-

The intruder introduced himself in a formal manner. To appease him mind he changed his appearance a little. Now he was an aged version of him, wearing glasses, a lab coat, a pair of nice steel tipped boots. He made an odd picture but so did his story. He was an actual God.

"No." The intruder replied, "I am not God. I am not that cruel."

Hachiman scowled, "I don't know what you mean."

The intruder scowled. It was odd. Seeing himself there, standing before him; only older and different and much more knowledgeable. "Unlike God, I will actually explain myself."

Hachiman made a face, "And what's there to explain. What you told me seems implausible."

The intruder looked away, "No it isn't. This has to work. I changed the time stream. Interfered with it. Not much. Just a little. The artificiality. The dilution. It can corrupt the world. It will be just right."

Hachiman did not looked pleased, "I have never heard the word 'corruption' being used for right thing."

The intruder looked askance, "I am only asking you to try. I know this is a lot. But it has to be you."

Hachiman looked crestfallen. "Why?" he asked.

The intruder gave him a sad smile, "Because you are an anomaly. You are my replacement, I think. You can venture through the different world. You have been successful in fixing the anomalies of the 'Haruno Hindrance' as I like to call it. Why won't you give Shizuka a try."

Hachiman looked away. "I don't know."

The intruder pleaded. "You can't be like that, Hachiman. Shizuka is a part of your world. She is an important component of the universe. You have been messing things up with her. You have to understand, she is different than Haruno. There won't be any dramatics. It will be a slow burn. It will be hectic. It will be painful."

Hachiman looked betrayed, "Then why? Why do you want me to be burned?"

The intruder, the God gave him a lingering look, "Because Shizuka deserves happiness. In this world and in the other."

The blinding light let him know he was back. He was back.

-/-/-/-/-

Don't Own Oregairu

Scene #68: New Number

Pairing: Hachiman/Shizuka

Genre: Romance/Humour.

Universe: 12435962/ 12177757

"Say Hikigaya, did you change your number?"

"Huh?" Hikigaya Hachiman looked at his former homeroom teacher like she had suddenly sprouted another head on her shoulder… Um, he was having a weird sense of déjà vu. No matter. He must address the issue at hand. His former sensei was looking distinctly unhappy with him. He needed to avert this crisis.

"Don't 'huh' me, you idiot." Shizuka replied, "It was a simple question. Did you or did you not change your number."

He gulped, "Um, yes."

"Oh, so you did." Shizuka folded her hand underneath her breasts, tapping her feet in an impatient manner, the scowl on her face never leaving. "Why?"

He blushed, "I um kinda broke my old phone accidentally." His voice got lower. "Graduation was a chore. Tobe was boisterous than ever. He broke my phone, now that I think about it."

Shizuka looked at him, her posture relaxing, "Oh, I understand I guess." This time she blushed, "I thought you were trying to do something stupid. Like…like not take calls and avoid people from your high school life."

"That was an added bonus," He replied without thinking.

"Oh," Shizuka looked hurt, "Well, then I guess we have nothing to discuss. Have a good life, Hikigaya."

She turned around; she was leaving, leaving him, walking away.

Her phone rang. She stopped walking. Shizuka took out her phone. The number was new. She did not recognize it. But she needed the distraction. Talking to a stranger might actually help. With this thought, she brought the phone to her ears.

"Hello, whose this?" Shizuka asked gruffly.

"…A Fool." The voice replied from the other side.

Shizuka almost dropped her phone in shock.

"Hikigaya?" She stammered.

"My new number, sensei" He replied from the other side, "Please, keep in touch."

And with a faint click the line disconnected.

What a dork, Shizuka thought.

-/-/-/-/-

A/N: Okay, so I know people don't really like Shizuka as much as Haruno. But please give this a chance. I am trying to make the multiverse work. I really am. But if it doesn't work, then well…here are the choices for the next chapter.

Option 1: Kill the multiverse idea. Return to normal Vignettes, Snippets, Drabbles Etc.

Option 2: Carry on with the Shizuka arc.

Please pick one.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams.


	69. Chapter 69 Positions

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 69: Positions.

Like always, Hiratsuka Shizuka had destroyed another relationship of hers. Like expected, Hikigaya Hachiman had accepted her choice. Once again the monster of logic had forced him to see reason. He was aware of them from the start: she was older than him, much more experienced in such matters, and most importantly, she was his homeroom teacher. Hence, a relationship of a more romantic inclination was not entirely feasible.

Last year, when Shizuka was still a year younger and Hachiman was still a second year high school student, they had found a moment of solitude for themselves, where he had admitted to her in having a problem with using his methods, his rotten brain, his monster of logic persona to handle requests and get the job done for the service club. He had made this admission to her while coming apart in her arms, the only thing keeping him standing upright was her arms, wrapped around him in a warm and comforting embrace. Hiratsuka Shizuka didn't make it a habit of hugging her students. It was unprofessional and unorthodox. But Hikigaya Hachiman needed a hug: a set of arms, a pair of palms and a shoulder. She could make an exception.

But now a year later, when Shizuka was a year older and Hachiman was in his final year of high school, they had fallen back on their old habits, pretending everything was completely fine and normal, when clearly it was not. Shizuka had her insecurities, her own demons and having a relationship with a high school student was not tenable at any point of time. Hachiman felt guilty of putting her at risk. When they got caught, he would get a slap on the wrist. But her life would be ruined.

Hence, they took the logical step, ended everything before anything even began. Ironically enough, both of them told themselves that they were doing this to protect the other. In reality, they were doing this to protect themselves from the eventual hurt. Love to them was dangerous. Once burned, twice shy like the saying goes and exactly like that they went their separate ways. Only problem was, Hachiman had selected humanities in his final year and Shizuka taught literature. The universe loved having fun at their expense. As usual, Hachiman was still her student and Shizuka was still her sensei. Nothing changed. Nothing at all.

Unlike Hachiman, Shizuka did not believe in the concept of hurting oneself, unnecessarily, to feel anything remotely close to a genuine emotion. During class, she wore the mask of the teacher and he was just another student to her. She had to teach. He had to learn. Nothing more. Nothing less.

The Service Club could have been a problem. Despite the fallout from the ill-timed confession, a sense of normalcy was achieved. It would never be quite the same ever again, though. The long shadows of the setting sun were uncomfortable, the tea ran cold and the forced smiles of Yuigahama Yui could easily be distinguished. However, they took care of the request brought to them even now and hence, served the purpose for which it was formed. She, however, had withdrawn herself completely from the club. Technically, she was still the club advisor, but like she said, she did not believe in hurting oneself unnecessarily.

Hence, Shizuka would not meet Hachiman in the club room where he was in the presence of the other two girls, reading his book in silence and talking to either of them, in an amicable manner, when asked to contribute during a discussion. They seemed to have moved on from the entire debacle, put it behind them and strengthened the bonds of their friendship from the experience.

Shizuka was happy for them.

But if only everything was so simple.

Shizuka was lounging in the private chamber at the far corner of the faculty room, meant mostly to hold dialogue with the parents over matters pertaining to their kids. Her classes had drained her completely of energy today and although, she was tired enough to doze off on the sofa for a few hours, her eyes moved to the direction of the door, while picking up the hurried footsteps ringing out loudly in the empty hallways. As she expected, within a few seconds, the door was rudely flung open and one of her students walked in.

"Sensei! It's Hikitani. He's-"

"-An idiot."

Ebina Hina looked at her homeroom teacher. She was a bit confused by their exchange. Yes, Hikigaya Hachiman was indeed an idiot. But he was not the normal idiot. He was a special kind of idiot. The endearing kind. Somehow, it seemed highly unlikely for a teacher to recognize his kind of idiocy. Hina needed a little context. But she could get to it later. At the moment she needed to focus on the present. Hikitani was counting on her!

"Can you come to the home economics room, sensei? Please!" Ebina pleaded in an urgent voice.

Shizuka sighed. "Fine. Lead the way, Ebina."

They walked together to the home economics room. Shizuka kept an uninterested look on her face to fool the girl in front of her. Despite appearances, Ebina Hina was one of the bright ones. Fujoshi antics notwithstanding, the girl could easily decipher quite a bit more from her pinched eyebrows and the small crinkle on her lips. Shizuka was not really surprised when Hachiman and she became friends in their third year. Good friends if you ask her. Mere acquaintances if you ask him. But then again so was Yuigahama and Yukinoshita and Kawasaki.

When it came to the girls, Hachiman was always an idiot and like a proper idiot, Shizuka found him standing in the middle of a small huddle, overlooked by a few of his classmates. When, she moved a bit closer, he eyes widened a bit. It seemed he was completely drenched from head to toe. His hair was a soggy mess. Water was dripping down his face and soaking the fabric of his uniform, rendering the white shirt he wore nearly transparent to the impromptu audience. Even from where she was standing, Shizuka could almost see the outlines of the dark undershirt he always wore underneath. However, before she could be caught staring, Ebina spoke up to Hachiman.

"Hikitani-kun! You are still wearing that wet shirt. You will catch a cold, you idiot." Ebina screeched in a loud voice. "Take it off. Now!"

Shizuka could have rolled her eyes at the poor girl's antics. They might have been friends. Good friends even. But clearly, Ebina did not know much about the person Hachiman actually was, because there was no way he was gonna listen to her and take off his shirt. The idiot didn't even take off his shirt when all of them went to Chiba village. Everyone brought their swimwear; except for him. Hachiman was shy, timid-what the fuck?

The rustle of wet fabric reached her ears a moment later and looking up, Shizuka noticed him undoing the buttons of his shirt and taking off his shirt without so much as a single protest or a small huff of air. Moreover, it must have been her imagination, but for a second, it looked like he was staring at her direction, while he was shedding his clothes. Hachiman was watching her for a reaction and judging by the warmth spreading on her cheeks, the sly bastard had actually gotten it. When had he become so bold, Shizuka wondered to herself. The Hachiman she knew would never do such a thing. Yuigahama was there. Freaking Yukinoshita was there. Goddammit, she was there too! He shouldn't be doing this. Moreover, he shouldn't look so good and confident while, technically stripping in front of them.

"Anything else, Ebina?" Hachiman asked

His voice sounded bored. Almost deadpan. Shizuka looked at him while he deposited his shirt in a nearby counter and almost suppressed a grin, when she thought, she saw Yuigahama actually make a motion with her hands, to reach out to grab it from him. The poor girl was a mess. But then again, so was Shizuka. The black undershirt he wore underneath seemed slick, clinging to his torso perfectly enough to give his impromptu audience a good view of his chest and abdomen. Technically, he was still clothed. But then again, so would be she, if she were to strip down to her bra. The thought should have been inappropriate. But somehow it wasn't. From beside her, Shizuka found Ebina acting overly excited.

"Take off your pants!" Ebina shouted.

He wouldn't dare. No he wouldn't, Shizuka thought furiously. But from the sound of the sharp gasp coming out of Yukinoshita's mouth and the small sound of metal hitting finger tips, Shizuka looked up and saw him, staring at her direction again, dead fish eyes taking a darker, god forbid sexier glint, trying to bury her in its pits, while he casually fumbled with his belt buckle.

The silence was akin to a grave.

Then the old dry chuckle rang through with practiced ease.

"Nice try, Ebina." Hachiman said with a small smile, removing his hands from the belt and promptly dropping them to his sides. This time, his eyes shifted from Shizuka's face to look down to the girl he was currently addressing.

"You're such a party pooper, Hachiman." Ebina whined. "You ruined the show for us girls. Isn't it right Yui?"

"Ha-ha." Yuigahama gave an awkward laugh, "I don't know what you are talking about, Hina."

"Yes you do." Ebina said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

Yuigahama turned to the person beside her. "Yukinon, you tell her. It's not like that right?"

Yukinoshita had a blank expression on her face. She seemed to be staring out into space, her eyes wide, her mouth a little open.

"Um, I think we broke her, Yui." Ebina said with a giggle. She came forward and waved her hands before Yukinoshita's eyes. "Hello anybody home, Yukinoshita-san."

Quite abruptly, Yukinoshita came around and caught Ebina's hand, "There's no need for concern, Ebina-san." She replied coldly, "I was merely thinking about something and drifted off from all this useless talk. You will have to excuse me."

"Honey," Ebina said kindly, placing her hands on Yukinoshita's shoulder. "You are drooling."

Yukinoshita looked alarmed, rubbed her mouth and then stalked off embarrassed of the entire situation which only made Ebina giggle a little harder much to Yuigahama's comfort.

"Oh that was hilarious." Ebina said, holding on to her stomach to control her laughter.

"Don't be mean Ebina." Yuigahama scolded playfully, though she too had a smile on her face.

Meanwhile one solitary person moved closer and placed a big hand on Hachiman's shoulder. His grip was both firm and strong. "Hikitani-bro, should I be worried that you took off your shirt when Ebina asked."

"…I hope you are joking Tobe." Hachiman asked sarcastically.

"Tobe, babe, don't dislocate Hikitani-kun's shoulder." Ebina came to his rescue. "It would ruin my Toby x Hachi ship!"

"You ship them?" Yuigahama asked confused, "But I thought you were with Tobe."

Ebina nodded her head, "Oh I am." She placed a quick kiss on the corner of Tobe's mouth, making him loose his grip on Hachiman's shoulder. He quickly moved away, rubbing his shoulder to ease the pain while muttering curses, inaudibly.

"Then why… um?" Yui blushed.

"Oh don't be embarrassed, Yui." Ebina said playfully. "You have to admit Toby x Hachi is way sexier than Hayama x Hachi. And besides, it's all in my head." The smile she gave was half crazed.

"You are sick, Ebina." Hachiman grumbled.

"Oh don't be like that, Hikitani-kun." Ebina replied, "You, me and Tobe. We have a threesome. In my mind, that is. You think Hikitani is sexy right, Tobe?" Ebina asked her boyfriend while rubbing his shoulders.

"What! No!" Tobe shouted.

Ebina sighed, "Well like they say, sexy is in the eyes of the beholder. Don't worry about it, Hikitani-kun. You will find your own Tobe like I found mine." Ebina kissed Tobe again to emphasise her point.

"I don't need a Tobe." Hachiman said looking at Shizuka, "I need a-"

"Nurse!" Yuigahama blurted out abruptly.

Ebina broke off her kiss in a fit of giggles. Tobe too laughed loudly. Only Shizuka looked flustered at the statement and glared at Yuigahama.

"A nurse?" Shizuka said almost angrily, "Why would he need a slutty nurse?"

"Um," Yuigahama blushed a little, "Because Hikki is injured, sensei."

"…Oh." Shizuka regained some of her composure, "Well then, that's okay then." She grabbed his hands and pulled, "Okay mister, you are coming with me."

Hachiman nodded his head wisely, "Yes, ma'm."

Both of them left together and while leaving they left Tobe with one final question:

"Um guys," Tobe asked both Ebina and Yuigahama, "Why were you all staring at Hikitani-bro's chest. He doesn't even have boobs!"

And the girls burst out laughing uncontrollably.

They were in a position to laugh.

-/-/-/-

A/N: And it's back. I got a lot of vote to kill off the multiverse idea and I think I just did that. But a few people still want to try the idea out a little. So here's the thing. I will write a chapter, set some things up and then leave it to you guys to choose. So here are the options:

 **Option one: Make this into a story. [Shizuka x Hachiman]**

 **Option two: Move onto another vignette. [Another pairing]**

 **Please, pick one.**

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams.


	70. Chapter 70 Hilarious

Chapter 70: Hilarious.

FlashBack

He looks, he listens and mentally chides himself for doing the same, his rotten dead fish eyes trained on the back of her head, his sensitive ears picking up only bits and pieces of the conversation, which she was having with her catty girl friends.

Hachiman had his arms crossed on the desk, head down, eyes closed, pretending to be asleep, though he often wondered whether he fooled anyone with his little act. It was practically impossible to sleep with all the constant ruckus happening around him. Middleschoolers were extremely annoying, he found. Except for Orimoto, he thought. She was nice. His heart fluttered a little at the small acknowledgement. Mentally cursing himself, he blamed the only culprit responsible for making him feel like this-Puberty.

"Listening to us girls while pretending to be asleep is really creepy, you know."

Hachiman was startled. Blinking rapidly, feeling his heart almost burst out from his chest, he remembered to act a little groggy to affect the look of a person recently rendered awake from his well deserved rest by another meddlesome person. He hoped he fooled her, but judging from the full smile on her lips, he was not so sure of his acting prowess at the moment. In fact, he was thankful for his ability to speak at all, for Orimoto had purposely invaded his private space and whispered those words directly into his ears. Her warm breath on his earlobe, the smile in her voice, the amusement in her eyes, should have rendered him catatonic for the entire week. But like he said, he was lucky.

"I don't know what you are talking about, Orimoto."

Orimoto shook her head and smiled at him before moving to take her seat, which was right beside his desk. Like always his breath would hitch for a second when she would slip past behind him, the backrest of his chair doing absolutely nothing, to prevent the smallest of brushes between both their bodies from taking place, her front to his back. Whenever their bodies touched like this his brain would go off on its own accord and keep a count. He should be a little disturbed about this, but he found himself to be not bothered at all. Orimoto did not know what happened in his brain. Hence, he was safe.

"You know, you should try snoring sometimes."

Hachiman looked at Orimoto and raised an eyebrow. Lost in his own thoughts he had almost forgotten the fact that she had caught him pretending to be asleep today while listening to her conversation with her friends. He thought she would be angry with him and not bother talking to him unless it was extremely important. But that seems to not be the case at the moment. Again, he was saved. He was having a good day today, he thought.

"I don't follow." He asked, confused.

"You should snore when you are pretending to be asleep," Orimoto explained. "Then it would look more realistic, don't you think."

Hachiman shook his head, "No, it would draw unwanted attention on me." he replied, "Moreover, I don't snore when I sleep." He fumbled over his words a little bit, "When I sleep for real, I mean."

"You don't have to lie, Hikigaya."Orimoto snorted, "Everyone knows guys snore when they sleep."

"I don't." He replied, firmly.

"…So you are saying, you are not a guy." Orimoto stated, cheekily.

Hachiman blushed, "I'm a guy!" God he was making an idiot out of himself, "I just don't snore like you are saying I do."

"Well there's no way to know the truth for sure." Orimoto gave a melodramatic sigh, "I would have to sleep with you to find out."

A pause. A beat. Both of them had an identical look on their respective faces when the meaning of her words finally sunk in.

Hachiman blushed, "…That's hilarious, Orimoto."

"…Yeah, of course it is!" Orimoto replied blushing too. "It's hilarious."

-/-/-/-/-

Present

"Should I be worried," Shizuka asked from her side of the bed. "I think I should be worried; you, thinking about another girl, while we are together in bed especially after we had some bind blowing make up sex."

"You don't have anything to worry about, Shizuka." Hachiman replied smoothly, making her moan with his sensual ministrations, "Orimoto has nothing on you."

"…Those words would mean a lot more if you weren't squeezing my tits at the moment." Shizuka replied playfully, "I have seen the girl before. I know mines are bigger than hers."

"There, you see. Everything's back to normal." Hachiman replied smoothly, "I love you."

"You love my tits more." Shizuka groused.

"Now that's a lie." He replied, smugly.

"Like the lie about you not snoring, right?" Shizuka smirked in return.

"…I don't snore." Hachiman replied, "You snore!"

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that." Shizuka replied turning to her side and hogging the rest of the blanket on purpose. "Good night, babe. And please try to keep it down, okay. I need my beauty sleep, you know. Goodnight."

"I don't snore!" Hachiman grumbled. "And you said goodnight twice!"

Shizuka did not answer him. She pretended to be asleep. And just to piss him off even more, she actually snored this time.

-/-/-/-/-

A/N: Welcome to the Shizuka arc everyone!

The format is definitely new. Basically, in the beginning of every chapter there will be a flashback portion with Hachiman and one of the girls. However, in the next portion the action will shift to the present, which will be only about **Shizuka and Hachiman.** It will balance out both the parts, I think.

A big thanks to **onethirdparty** and **Zionchar11** for PMing me. Thank you for making me revisit the Orimoto oneshots.

Also here are the options for the next chapter:

Option one: Shizuka bests Haruno.

Option two: Shizuka bests Saki.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams.

-/-/-/-/-


	71. Chapter 71 Tease

Chapter 71: Tease

FlashBack #1

He stiffens at the touch, shudders at the contact, and mentally goes on to berating himself for the awkward display and lack of control over his own body, dead fish eyes widening in alarm, cheeks flushing in embarrassment and nails digging into the palm of his hand to keep them from wandering elsewhere.

Like always, his rotten eyes are to blame. Earlier, they had caught an inadvertent glimpse, stole a small glance and definitely sneaked a peek down the top of the uniform shirt, worn by a girl from his high school.

Orange was a good look on her, he thought. It went well with her light brown hair and honey coloured eyes. But then, his purely aesthetic appreciation of her undergarments went in vain, when the same girl stopped bending forwards, directly into the line of his sight and abruptly straightened up, meeting his gaze with her own. Recognition was instant.

"I thought I had a creepy feeling." The girl murmured, "Turned out it was only senpai."

"…Very funny Isshiki" He replied, scoffing.

His kohai had then given him a jubilant smile and he thought he was safe. She must not have noticed him creeping on her like that. He would be in so much trouble if she did. But then the glint in her eyes and the smile playing on her lips turned extremely mischievous.

Earlier, Isshiki had been trying to tie her shoe laces for the gym class. That was the only reason she was bent forward like that when his gaze fell on her. Like always he had opted out from the gym class by sighting an excuse. He did not want to be a burden on his partner, he had said and the teacher had believed him.

Hachiman had then take a seat on a bench and not a moment later his eyes fell on the girl, followed by him getting a closer look at her undergarment when she bent forward to tie her shoe laces. But the girl caught him in the act and instead of calling him a pervert and reporting him to the teacher, Isshiki chose to do something worse.

He stiffens at the touch, shudders at the contact, his shoulders feeling the foreign pressure and turning rigid, while his eyes look directly ahead of him, not daring to turn sideways and look at her, bent forward, this time away from him, and trying to tie her shoe laces, again. Only problem is, this time around, her ass is in the air and those obscenely short gym shorts leave nothing to the imagination.

"What are you doing?" He screeches in a voice meant for only her ears, "There are people here, Isshiki! We could get suspended."

"I don't know what you are talking about," Isshiki asked, "I'm just tying my shoe laces, senpai."

He groans when her hips give a small wiggle and then not before long, he admits a silent defeat, letting her keep her hips on his right shoulder for balance to help her tie her shoe laces. It's a passable excuse. Better than the one he made to avoid gym class.

Isshiki takes her sweet time to tie her shoelaces. He fumes in silence. When she is finally done and deems it feet to remove her hips from his shoulder, Hachiman glares at her and for all his trouble, he gets a wink and a smile from her.

"That was a dirty move, Isshiki." He mumbles.

Isshiki giggles, "That's what you get for peeking, senpai. Tehee~"

-/-/-/-

FlashBack #2

He chokes, he splutters, making a proper mess of himself in mere moments and then watches her from the other side of the table trying to act naïve and innocent over the entire matter. She takes a small sip from her cup of cappuccino and raises an eyebrow at his direction in question.

"Problem?" She asks.

"Not at all." He mumbles.

She sends him a knowing look over the edge of her cup, hiding her devious smile in between small sips of her beverage and he stifles a groan by biting his lips, wondering whether this could be called multitasking. Haruno is currently using her hands, over the table, to drink her coffee and simultaneous, she is using her right foot, under the table, to crawl up his thighs and make a beeline for his groin, with the sole purpose of driving him completely insane.

"You should sit more comfortably, Hikigaya-kun," Haruno tells him "Spread your legs a bit more."

"…How do you do that?" He asks, completely bewildered. She is drinking her coffee, holding up a conversation and then teasing him by using both her words and her legs. This should not be possible.

Haruno shrugs. "I manage." Her eyes fall on the piece of cake in his plate, "Do you want that?"

He shakes his head, not trusting his voice much. "No."

"Thanks" Haruno replies, giving his balls a small playful squeeze with her toes which makes him squeal. "You are too nice."

"…And you are evil." He croaks.

"Well, I try." Haruno offers.

Haruno brings the cake to her mouth and takes a small bite, chewing in such a sensual and seductive manner, rolling her tongue around her lips, licking the topping, the cream in such a sinful way which cannot be put into words, before swallowing it down her throat. And while she ate his cake, she never, not even for once, stopped running her foot, up and down his thighs, moving her toe along his length and applying just the right amount of pressure to his balls.

"…Please don't." He groans.

Haruno smiles, "What can I say," she replies, "I want to have my cake and eat it too."

-/-/-/-

Present

He gasps, he groans, closing his eyes and enjoying the sensation, basking in the pleasure of her beautiful lips and her succulent tongue, while they worked their dark magic in the inside of his thighs, up his hardened length and his sensitive tip. He pulls her closer, entwining his fingers in her hair.

"Fuck, Shizuka!" He growls.

"Enjoying yourself, aren't you babe," Shizuka gives him a wink from between his legs.

He is only able to nod at the moment. "Uh-huh." Words fail him altogether.

"Wanna see a trick?" Shizuka asks seductively.

He nods his head once again and watches her movements, taking in her hands which stretch forward and holds up a small square package, dangles it teasingly near her lips and then in such an abrupt motion, she tears the plastic with her sharp teeth, holds the condom out between her fingers and puts it over his hardened, twitching member.

But she doesn't pull it down entirely. Her hands are withdrawn and placed on his thighs, where they draw soothing patterns and while maintaining eye contact with him, Shizuka uses her teeth, once again, to drag the condom along his girth, down to his base, this time around, covering him entirely.

She places a kiss at the tip and raises an eyebrow at him in question.

"You win." Hachiman squeaks.

-/-/-/-/-

A/N: Well, what do you guys think? Who won?

Also here are the options for the next chapter:

Option one: Shizuka one shot(s) from "Labcoats and Loners"

Option two: A Shizuka Arc from "Alphabets: A Romance".

Please, pick one.

Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams.


	72. Scene 72 Back to it's Roots

Don't Own Oregairu

Scene # 72: Back to Its Roots

Pairing: Hikigaya/Yuigahama

Genre: Friendship/Romance

Word Count: 537

/

Miura was annoyed. "I don't know why you like him." She huffed, glaring at the creep in the distance. "Hikio is so weird and creepy looking. Especially with the eyes and...well, okay, just the eyes. But are you sure about this, Yui? I mean there's that guy from first year. He looks at you a lot. And he's cute too. You can like him instead."

"Yumiko, don't say stuff like that!" Yui protested. "And that guy you said, is actually Saki's younger brother, you know, Taishi-kun."

"Really?" Miura looked confused. "Well, Taishi-kun and Kawasaki-san don't look like brother and sister to me. They are too different, Yui. Kawasaki-san is a delinquent, while Taishi-kun is a-"

"-Pervert." Came the voice.

Both girls almost screamed in fright. Miura actually managed to swing her arms and hit the person responsible for frightening them.

"What the hell, Hikio!" Miura yelled. "You scared us half to death. Do you get some kind of sick joy out of frightening innocent girls or something? Because if you do it needs to stop! Right now."

"…Nice punch, Miura." Hachiman said, while rubbing his jaw, ignoring the rest of her statement. "And like I was saying before," He turned to Yuigahama. "That bug is a pervert. He was always looking at your breasts. I caught him staring once. Taught him a lesson. You don't have to worry about him anymore, Yuigahama."

"Gee, um thanks, Hikki." Yui blushed before getting concerned over him. "Hikki, are you okay?" She asked. "Miura's punches are really strong, you know."

"Don't worry Yuigahama." Hachiman replied. "I get punched by Hiratsuka sensei almost on a daily basis. I can handle a few punches from Miura."

Miura seethed. "Get lost, Hikio!"

As expected he didn't need to be told twice. After he was gone, Miura returned to the topic she was discussing with Yuigahama.

"You can't like him, Yui." Miura repeated with vehemence. "He is too weird."

"No, he's not." Yuigahama defended.

"Well if he's not, then why did he look so damn proud about getting punched, huh?" Miura argued, "Face it, Yui. He's weird. Hikio is probably a masochist."

Yui looked sad. "…That's what Yukinon said."

Miura scowled. "On second thought, go ahead. Date him."

Yuigahama brightened up. "Really? Do you mean that, Yumiko?"

"Yes I do Yui." Miura replied. "Go now. Shoo. Shoo."

"Thank you so much Yumiko!" Yuigahama smiled and lunged forward to grab Miura in a powerful hug. "You are the best."

"I know." Miura replied, smug.

Afterwards, Miura watched her talk to Hikio with a sour look on her face.

"It's nice what you did for Yui just now." Ebina said, sitting beside her. "Our support means a lot to her, you know."

"I know." Miura huffed. "Doesn't mean I like it."

"Cheer up. You will get used to it." Ebina said happily. "Besides, don't think I didn't notice what you did back there, Yumiko."

"I don't know what you are saying, Hina." Miura said, casually.

"Really?" Ebina teased. "Did you not just change your whole point of view on Hikitani-kun, solely based on the fact that, you didn't want to sound like Yui's precious 'Yukinon'."

Miura made a face. "…I hate you sometimes, Hina."

Ebina hugged her. "And I love you just more."

/

A/N: Wow. I got this really nostalgic feeling while writing this. It's like I'm back to the roots of what this story used to be. Simple. Easy. Fun. I like this a lot.

So, if it isn't too much of a bother, I would like you guys to start leaving pairing suggestions and prompts like you used too. And just like that, I will start writing almost everything like back then. Oh this felt so good.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams.


	73. Scene 73 Feeling Bitter

Don't Own Oregairu

Scene# 73: Feeling Bitter.

Characters: Haruno, Hayama, Yukino, Hachiman, Miura.

Genre: Friendship/Romance.

Word Count: 881

He could feel her smile from the other side: lounging on the sofa in the middle of her living room, playing with a single strand of her silky hair- feeling bored, feeling miserable- looking at the empty wine glass on the coffee table, staring at the phone plugged to the charger- feeling mischievous, feeling meddlesome- dialling his number, knowing he would pick up, smiling at how pathetic he was, smiling at his misery, smiling at his latest loss, smiling her usual smile. "I am disappointed in you, Hayato-kun. Really, really disappointed. I thought you would call me tonight. Tell me the good news yourself. But instead, I found out about this from Shizuka-chan. You know how miserable she was! It was intolerable. Almost Impossible, I say. Let me tell you, Hayato-kun, I have never seen anyone so unhappy over the news of two like minded people finding love. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought Shizuka-chan had a crush on him or something, you know."

He blanched at the thought. "I don't like the image, Haruno-san."

"Hey now." Haruno rebuked, playfully. "Say what you will about Hikigaya-kun, but you have to admit, Shizuka-chan is too damn sexy. C'mon Hayato-kun, don't tell me you never looked. It's a really pity you weren't there during my first year, you know. Back then Shizuka-chan used to wear these really tight pencil skirts and low cut blouses. No lame labcoat in sight! And then there were those stockings of hers. Oh you just had to be there, Hayato-kun."

"I will take your word for it."

"Oh, I bet you will. Too bad I can't say the same thing about you."

Hayato raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, Haruno-san?"

"Like I said before, Hayato-kun, you disappointed me." Haruno repeated. "But no matter. What's done is done. Things have been said, feelings confessed. No kiss yet, mind you, but knowing those two, I wouldn't hold my breath. It took them what? Almost a year and half to get here. The way they are going right now, I bet they won't even think about kissing until they are out of school. Kind of pathetic if you ask me. Too much mushy for my taste though. Yuck! But I guess some could call it cute. Oh! I can already imagine it: Yukino-chan, the school valedictorian, sharing her first kiss with her lovely boyfriend, on the stage, for everyone to see. So romantic! Don't you think, Hayato-kun?"

He gripped his phone tighter. "…They have already kissed."

"You don't say." Haruno mocked, "I bet you caught them in the act, didn't you. Tongues down the other's throat, both of them fooling around, alone in the clubroom, getting handsy with each other, Yukino-chan moaning his name: 'Oh Hachiman! Hachiman!'"

He gritted his teeth. "Is there a point to this call, Haruno-san? I'm afraid it's getting late."

This time she laughed; loud and cruel. "A gentleman to the end, aren't you, Hayato-kun. Oh how pathetic. But then again, I wouldn't expect anything different from the likes of you. Tell me, I'm curious. Did you at least congratulate the happy couple or did you hide in the bushes and watched them make out."

Hayato threw the phone away, watched it sail through the air, hit the back wall and heard the screen break and shatter. Good riddance! He could just buy another. But for the time being he didn't have to listen to Haruno anymore. That was its own reward. But then he heard the land line ring. He heard it ring once; loud and pronounced, almost wailing in pain at not having his attention. He chose to ignore it. It was Haruno. It had to be Haruno. Ignore it. Ignore it. Ignore it!

"What!?" He actually managed to sound pissed for once. "It's getting late, Haruno. I'm busy right now."

"…I'm not Haruno." The voice was timid, soft, scared of his outburst. "I will talk to you later, Hayato."

"Yumiko wait. I didn't mean…Hello? Hello?" He heard only static from the other side.

"Damn it!" He cursed.

He took a deep breath, weighed his options and decided he would eat his dinner in peace. Like Yumiko said, they will talk tomorrow.

He stabbed the fish on his plate with his chopsticks, gouging out the fried eyes with extreme prejudice.

He was not bitter.

-/-/-/-

A/N: Thank you so much, " **9157417"** for giving me such an awesome idea. I will make this into a small arc/short story.

 **Here's the summary: Hayama accepts he lost to Hikigaya for Yukino's affection and realises that Yumiko really does love him.**

So, the next few chapters will be about this. Or if you want, I can write something else. But it has to be a good idea like **"9157417".**

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams.


	74. Scene 74 Feeling Nostalgia

Don't Own Oregairu

Scene #74: Feeling Nostalgia

Story Idea by: **"Senpai2342"**

Characters: Hayama/Yukino

Genre: Romance/Angst

Word count: 543

He heard her grow quiet, eerily so, and he took that as an incentive to run everything in his mind once more; the rumours were not untrue and he simply did not just imagine them kissing in the empty clubroom. It really did of everyone else, who could have walked in on them, while they shared their first kiss, it had to be him. He held the phone away from his ears and looked at the display screen. The call was still connected. Damn. He would have expected, the girl he was taught to love from a young age, would have had the common decency to disconnect the call after she was done saying her piece, after she was done informing him of the fact that she was indeed in love with another guy who loved her back in return. But no; she was not done with him yet. She needed one very last favour from him. "I expect my parents to take unkindly to the news, Hayama-kun. Nee-san has chosen to be by my side when I break the news to both our families. I would appreciate you not making matters worse for the both of us."

He looked at dishes laid on top of the dinner table. "I promise to limit all my comments to your cooking. Only good things, I assure you."

"Then, I would make a note of adding three more table spoons of powdered chilli in your curry, Hayama-kun." Only a Yukinoshita could sound this cold. "It would only prove to enhance your taste buds, I assure you,"

He smiled at her threat. "You don't prepare our food, Yukinoshita-san."

"My parents would like your family to believe otherwise, Hayama-kun." She was unperturbed.

Nostalgia was the worst. It made the past look pleasant and beautiful. The only thing left were memories. He looked fondly at the dessert. "I made cupcakes tonight. Your childhood recipe."

She grew embarrassed. "Then, I hope you sleep on an empty stomach tonight." He could almost feel her glower from the other side of the phone. "Good night, Hayama-kun."

"Yes, good night… Yuki-chan." The childhood name was in poor taste. He was lucky, very much unlike the charred remains of these cupcakes, which he had left inside the oven and forgotten to take them out in time. Yes, nostalgia was the worst. They made these burnt pieces take the shape of a distant memory. There was the small girl, crying alone, at the mess she made for a hundredth time and promising never to enter a kitchen again and then, there was him, the small idiot kid, taking a bite out of her horrible cupcakes and saying they were nice and tasty and asking if she could make him some more.

He shook his head and threw the cupcakes in the bin. They would taste awful now.

-/-/-/-

A/N: Again, thank you " **Senpai2342** " for the idea.

So, does anyone feel a little bit sorry for Hayama? Anyone?

Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams.


	75. Chapter 75 Too old for Alphabets

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 75: Too Old For Alphabets

He likes the sex: the feel of her soft contours pressed to his side, the smell of their musk heavy in the air, the taste of her mouth fresh on his tongue, the sound of her languid breathes echoing through to his chest, the sight of her naked underneath the sheets, every expanse of her creamy skin covered in a thin sheen of sweat and bearing the marks left by him in the throes of passion, manages to satiate his sexual appetite and he always takes care to provide her the same courtesy, enquiring promptly, whether he satisfied her needs and met her carnal desires, during their repeated sessions of intercourse. Saki blushes, swats him on the arm, calls him a dumbass and then falls asleep in his arms, their legs entwined.

But sleep does not come to him. As he lies in bed, head on the soft pillows, tired and worn, his eyes look up to the ceiling and the ceiling looks down upon him in silent judgement. The eyes he cannot close, sees the girl he cannot love and dreams of the woman he cannot have.

A mind left to imagine makes matters worse. He thinks back to the evening. Two eighteen year old, sharing their first kiss in the school's empty bicycle lot and then proceeding to lose both their virginities in the space of a couple of hours.

He remembers all the embarrassing details, the expected awkwardness which was to be expected in undressing the other of every article of clothing, the struggle he had in unclasping her bra, and the fright that followed when the both of them remembered that he had not used protection. But the fear of a teenage pregnancy quickly evaporated in the following days. She assured him and he felt a little more relieved. Later on, when she broached the idea of pursing a relationship together, he felt less inclined to reject her.

Officially, they started dating. He bought condoms. But during one of his visits to the pharmacy he spotted her. It was the woman he loved, it was the woman he had confessed to and it was the woman whose rejection made him incapable to love another.

Shizuka saw him and blushed. It really bothered him. Going further back, not to the evening he had lost his virginity to a girl he can never love, but to the afternoon of the same day, where he laid down his heart and soul to the woman he loved, and he remembered her shooting him down, and breaking his heart. The reasons she sighted were reasonable- she was his teacher, he was her student- but it did not matter to him at that moment. Her rejection was the only thing on his mind back then.

But now here she was blushing at the sight of him. Then, he took notice of the package of pills lying on top of the counter. These were the pills she was buying and he recognized them instantly. Saki took them as well as a precaution. He wore condoms and she took the pills. Now he understood the reason behind her blush. She was embarrassed. He would be lying if he said he was not as well. He bought condoms in front of her from the shop while she placed the package of pills in her shoulder bag. Both of them did not talk to the other. They simply walked away knowing the other one was having sex with a different partner.

Back in the bed with Saki, Hachiman imagined making love to Shizuka.

Guilt claims him first, rest has him last and peace never bothers.

-/-/-/-

A/N: So, I couldn't make you guys feel sorry for Hayama. But what about these three? Who do you feel sorry for now?

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter,

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams.


	76. Chapter 76

Don't Own Oregairu

Scene# 76: Small Talk.

Characters: Isshiki/Hachiman

Making small talk is a curse. But Isshiki is of the opinion that it helps set up a good repertoire between the two schools, which in turn would make the task of joint decision making far more easier for both the student council bodies, which in the end would then make the task of co-hosting the upcoming interschool events much more tenable on their small and limited budget.

He is reluctant, but understanding and respects the situation they have been thrust in and thus keeps most of his scathing comments to himself and never brings up the fact that the student council president of the other school is a loud mouthed idiot.

Isshiki is happy with him and smiles from her side of the table. "I am so proud of you senpai! I never thought I would see you talking with the other guys without at least getting blackma-um, I mean without at least getting a pep-talk from me."

Hachiman ignores her slip up. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Isshiki. I don't think I have said too much. Tamanawa seems to have filled the entire quota for stupid talk all on his own. "

Isshiki shakes her head. "It's small talk, senpai. Small talk!"

Hachiman shrugs. "Same difference."

Isshiki pats him on the shoulder. "Oh don't be such a grouch. You know senpai; I know just the thing which will cheer you up."

"…Maxx Coffee?" Hachiman asks.

Isshiki looks cheerful. "Nope! Far better than that."

Hachiman looks puzzled. "What's that?"

Isshiki smiles. "A date. I am giving you the opportunity to take your beautiful kohai out on a date. Doesn't that cheer you up, senpai?"

"Not really." Hachiman mumbles.

"Fine." Isshiki sighs. "You can have Maxx Coffee."

"Really?" Hachiman perks up.

"Yup." Isshiki says. "But only when you take me out on a date."

"Drats!" Hachiman curses. "Fine. Let's go."

-/-/-/-


	77. Chapter 77 I Don't hate you

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 77: Encore

Word Count: Finally crossed 2000+

He hates change and so it makes a kind of sense when he takes notice of the changes taking place between them in the first place, though he keeps his mouth shut on the matter and resigns himself to making small talk with her in the corner of the conference table after the meeting is over.

"I kinda used to hate these meeting, you know. Don't get me wrong, I still find it hilarious watching the guys make a mess of everything from time to time, but it kinda loses a little bit of fun when it makes us look like idiots. I mean, I am not even a student council member, but hanging around the likes of Tamanawa makes me feel really stupid, you know. And sometimes, I really wonder why I even bother with these guys. I mean, I could just say 'no' and be done with it, you know. It's their problem. Check that, it's his problem, being the student council president and everything. Not mine or the others. And it's not like I owe him a favour of anything. But still, I always come to these meetings and stick around till the end. You get what I am saying, right?"

"…I do?"

"Hey now, that sounded more like a question."

"It was a question."

"Well it shouldn't be one."

Looking at her face brings back memories. He remembers her each and every expression and the crinkle in the corner of her eyes means she finds none of this at all hilarious. Once again, he is reminded of the fact that they are sitting close, so close that he can look into her face and read her expressions, which like always are open and frank and it makes memories flash in his mind from an evening the he tries to forget. He turns his head and looks ahead, watching Isshiki making small talk with her counterpart, the talkative Tamanawa, waving his hands around in the air like a mad man, looking animated as ever, spouting complete nonsense and embarrassing everyone in the room. From beside him, he hears her sigh in exasperation and he grows unbearably rigid when she places one of her hands on top of his knee to get his attention.

"Hachiman," Her voice is a whine. "C'mon, talk to me. You are like the only person who is not an idiot in this room. But, if I keep on talking to you like this the others will think I have gone mad because of Tamanawa and started talking to myself like a crazy cat lady or something. You don't want that on your conscience do you? Me, being called crazy, because you refuse to talk to me, because I can keep talking to you without you talking back to me for a long, long, time, you know. "

"…I don't know."

She blinks and he realises, she is taken aback by his response. He is not used to this much talk and he hardly expected her to seek him out, throw him a can of his favourite beverage and then corner him for a conversation. He expected her to go her way and he expected himself to go his way. This talk between them was not supposed to take place. But here they were, sitting together, sitting so close that their knees touched and then shoulders bumped whenever they moved even a little on their seat and turned to face the other. There was no excuse for these accidental touches. The conference table was spacious enough and most of the seats were empty. He ignored the feeling in his chest and tried his best to annoy her into walking away from him because he could not do this another time around. The reminder rang ever so loud in the back of his mind. The evening grew fresh, the pain grew stark. He would not have those wounds reopened again. So, he ignored her and looked ahead, trying to send across a look to Isshiki, to end this meaningless mingling session of hers and get them going from her, away from all of this, away from where he could be hurt again.

"Am I bothering you, Hachiman?"

His name on her lips should have bothered him. She had no right to be this familiar with him. Yet, he cannot bring himself to utter those words. It should have been so easy. It should have not been this hard. He kept his eyes ahead, focused on Isshiki and ignored the press of her light shoulder to his, took a deep breath, took a small swig from his can of beverage, eyes ahead, keep looking forward, don't turn, don't look at her, answer her, don't answer her.

"Hachiman, do you want me to leave?"

Say yes and end it, end it before it even starts, the voices in his head implore him, but for the life of him he cannot. Those words get stuck in his throat, and the hand on his shoulders makes him shrink. He catches a whip of her shampoo and knows she is leaning into him to say something for his ears only.

"For what it's worth, I am sorry."

He feels the ghost of a lip on his cheeks and he turns around, watching her recede into herself, walk away from him and he knows he has a chance to stop her, call her, say something, just respond and make it work, start again, have a different evening, a different feeling.

"Goodbye Orimoto."

But he cannot. He knows he is not being a coward. This is just him being careful. In time Isshiki has enough with Tamanawa's stupidity for the day and she walks upto him with a weary look on her face. He takes a hold of her proffered bag and she starts walking beside him, eyes on the road, moving forward and ahead. He lasts only a second more before he gets annoyed with the small looks she throws his way.

"You got something to say to me, Isshiki?"

He knows he sounds harsh and it is not her fault but right about now he does not care. He does not want to have a conversation with anyone, but that is not a choice he is given and he can never get away with choosing nothing at all. It is not a luxury he is afforded and not making a choice is a choice onto itself.

"Well senpai, that girl, with the brown curly hair, she was talking to you right?"

"I guess."

Isshiki looks interested. "Well, do you guys know each other?"

He answers truthfully.

"No, we don't."

-/-

Hikigaya Hachiman learnt the bitter truth, he taught himself to hate nice girls and the continued interactions through these prolonged meeting were having an unbearable toll on his mind and body. He would catch himself looking at her, staring at her from the corner of his eyes and he would hate himself for falling for the same trick, the same mistake, the same girl: her smile, her laugh, her touch.

Orimoto Kaori remained much the same girl from his old memories. His eyes noticed the obvious changes which took place in her body over the course of the past couple of years and he rightfully called himself a pervert for having his eyes linger for a moment too long on her breasts and then stoop a little too low to rest on her hips. Isshiki dug her elbows into his sides and threatened him in her usually sugary voice to get his mind out of the gutter and he was thankful for her choice of physical violence. He imagined Yukinoshita being far more vocal and showing much less restraint.

"Senpai, you will gross her out!" Isshiki warned, tugging at the sleeve of his arms to get his attention. "I don't want you doing anything perverted. These guys would make an issue out of it and waste all our time, discussing how you looked funny at that girl and then this meeting will come to nothing. It will all be a complete waste of time. So, for the benefit of the student council, I ask you to keep your eyes on me at all times. "

"Got it." He mumbles looking at her, "Okay, now can you let go of my hand."

"Oh-Okay." Isshiki blushes.

From the other side of the table he hears laughter. It's the same sound from his memories, a sound which seems to have travelled through time and reached him into the future and like an idiot her turns to face the source and comes face to face with the girl from his memories, the same girl, the same smile, the same laugh. Orimoto closes her eyes and wipes at her eyes and each of her movements have an echo in his mind. He even knows how she will respond.

"You guys are hilarious!"

The shake of the head, the throaty laugh subsiding into giggles, he knows she is laughing at him, at his expense and he also realises that Isshiki is growing red with embarrassment, but he cannot help it. He too blushes and abruptly turns around and looks down at the table, eyes ahead, scaring the hell out of Tamanawa, who takes it as a cue to begin the meeting.

-/-/-

He takes a deep breath and tells himself he is making a mistake, what he is thinking is bad, what he is trying to do might make things worse, but he is Hikigaya Hachiman and he has not learnt a damn thing from his mistakes.

He finds Orimoto near a vending machine.

"You are not a member of the student council are you?" He asks

"Um, I think I told you I am not." Orimoto raises an eyebrow. "Weren't you listening to me or something. Oh wait, don't answer that, you were not. In fact you were going out of your way to ignore me."

"So what if I was." Hachiman ask. "I can ignore you if I want. That doesn't mean you get to ridicule Isshiki throughout the entire meeting. You are not even a member. You have no business being there."

"Well, neither are you." Orimoto snaps. "Doesn't stop you from getting involved does it. You always come to the rescue of that girl. What's your deal with her anyways? Are you guys dating or something?"

He looks taken aback. "That's none of your business."

Orimoto scoff. "So you are."

He blisters. "No we are not."

She crosses her arms and looks peeved. "You could have gone with that in the first place. Now you make me sound like an idiot. Why do you have to make everything so difficult, Hachiman?"

"Because it is!" He shouts "Everything is difficult. I can't stand looking at you and stop myself from remembering what happened, what I did, what you did, what followed, everything! Why can't you understand? It was not easy. This is not easy and I have to deal with this all over again and I don't want to. I just don't want to."

Orimoto reaches down at grabs her can of beverage. She has his back turn on him, so he cannot look at her face, stare into her eyes and see the truth. "Do you hate me, Hikigaya?"

"For the life of me, I can't." Hachiman sighs. "This is a problem, Orimoto."

Orimoto hands him her drink. "Here." she says "It's on me."

It's a little late when he realizes the double meaning. Yes, it's all on her. The Maxx Coffee tastes bitter for the first time in his life and he fails to come up with a good explanation.

-/-/-/-

A/N: Okay, so, I looked at some of the recent chapters and they are all shit. So I tried writing Orimoto a bit. Is it a hit or a fail? Also, I was thinking of rebooting the whole series. Making some of the chapters better, make a little more sense, and have something of a plot.

So, where do you guys want me to start?

Option One: From Miura (The Very First Chapter)

Option Two: From Haruno (The Bubble Bath Arc)

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Won't betray your dreams.


	78. Chapter 78 All The Single Ladies Part I

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 78: Interlude (All the Single Ladies) Part I

Miura Yumiko crossed her arms and glared at the other girl. "What do you mean we can't hang out in the clubroom? You are my friend, Yui. So is Hikio for that matter. Speaking of which…" Miura looked at the empty chair and huffed in irritation. "Where is Hikio? I thought he would be in the club by now. Not that I came here to talk to him or anything. I mean, he is a friend and he gave me his number, but I came here to talk to you, Yui. And if I have to talk to Hikio, then its okay too, I don't mind him."

"What about Yukinon?" Yuigahama asked, timidly.

"What about her?" Miura asked, annoyed.

"Yumiko, don't be mean!" Yuigahama exclaimed. "You can't ignore Yukinon. She is the service club president, you know. She is really nice. You should try talking to her too. You know, it would be great if we can all hang out together, you know: you, me, Yukinon and…" Yuigahama felt herself smile and also blushed, just a little. "…and Hikki."

"I don't think Yukinoshita-san is as nice as you make her out, Yui." Miura made a face. "When I asked Hikio for his number, he said something about Yukinoshita-san slipping something into his drink. The poor guy had to go to the infirmary to get checked. Now why would Yukinoshita-san do something like that to him? It makes no sense."

Yuigahama had to cover her mouth to stifle a laugh. "Y-yeah. It makes no sense."

Miura looked annoyed. "Why are you laughing, Yui?"

"It's nothing, Yumiko." Yuigahama tried to wave it off. "It's just that, Hikki always makes up some lame excuse when he feels awkward or embarrassed about something, you know. I think when you asked him for his number, he might have been a little shocked by your sudden attitude. So, he tried to get away from you and made up that stuff about Yukinon slipping something into his tea." Yuigahama pouted in remembrance. "He did the same thing to me when I tried to make a bento for him."

"You mean go to the infirmary." Miura asked, teasingly. "Was this before or after eating your cooking?"

"Before- Hey, don't be mean, Yumiko." Yuigahama exclaimed, loudly.

"Sorry Yui," Miura replied, before her mind latched onto a different matter. "Hey, now that I think about it, wasn't that around the same time when Ebina was in the infirmary too. God! That must have been so embarrassing."

Yuigahama looked confused. "Embarrassing for who?"

"Yeah, you are right." Miura scoffed. "Knowing Ebina, she must have scarred Hikio for life. I think that will teach him a lesson on making stupid excuses and skipping to the infirmary over having a nice chat with me. Seriously, what is his problem? You know me, Yui. I am a nice girl, right! I mean I can hold a conversation and be nice and funny and nice-"

"You said nice three times already, Yumiko." A voice filled with a teasing smile said from the doorway of the clubroom, making Miura scowl at the intruder in indignation. "You should try going for a few other adjectives. Big boobs come to mind, though to be fair, Yui has you beat by a fair margin."

Miura scowled at the other girl. "No one asked for your opinion, Hina. And just what do you mean by, 'Yui has be beat by a fair margin'. You make no sense. You know what! You should get a new pair of glasses, Hina. Yui and I have the same cup size." Miura turned to Yuigahama. "Why are you so silent, Yui? Tell her. She's wrong and I am right. Right? Right?"

Ebina turned to Yuigahama too. "Yeah, Yui tell me." Her voice held a smile.

"Ha-ha!" Yuigahama laughed awkwardly. "Well, will you guys look at the time. It's sure is getting late. I wonder where, Yukinon and Hikki are?" Her attempt to change the subject matter was met with silence, though for a second Miura looked concerned.

Yuigahama understood very well the cause of her concern. Mentioning those two in that context might easily be misunderstood and she was counting on Miura to take the bait. It was not really a nice thing to do, but Yuigahama felt like Hikki would be proud at her cunning. The thought made her smile.

Miura looked at Ebina. "Did you see, Hikio today, Hina? Was he coming to the club? He is not hanging around with Yukinoshita, by any chance, right?" Miura asked her with a tone of concern.

"Last I checked, Hikitani was busy making out with Yukinoshita in the library." Ebina replied promptly.

"What! We have to stop them. Hikio can't kiss her…" Ebina gave her an amused look and Miura quickly amended. "I mean, Hikio can't kiss her…in the library. Think of all the books. Those are important right? I mean it's a library for god sake! They will be ruined with…"

"Cooties…" Yuigahama offered while blushing a darker shade of red.

"Saliva…" Ebina offered smiling in amusement at friend and their discomfort.

"Sperm…" A scathing voice replied for the doorway.

Miura glared at girl standing at the doorway. "What are you doing here, Sagami? You are not welcome here. And most importantly, no one asked for your opinion."

Sagami Minami walked into the clubroom. "First of all, you are not the boss here, Miura. Yukinoshita is. Your words don't mean anything around here." Then she turned to Ebina Hina and threw her a look of abject disgust. "And Hina, I didn't think you would lie to your friends like this. Then again, I would lie too if I was bumping uglies with that dead fished eyed freak."

"Bumping uglies." Yuigahama looked scandalised.

"She means having sex, Yui." Miura explained.

"I knew that!" Yuigahama replied, and then she looked at Ebina for an explanation. "Hina, what is Minami talking about. You and Hikki are not like that, right?"

"Of course, Yui. Don't believe a word he said. I am all for the Tot X Hikki ship! Hey we should call it the Tokhi-Tokhi ship."

"Tokhi-Tokhi?" Now Miura looked confused.

"You know, Totsuka and Hikitani: Tokhi-Tokhi! It sounds a lot like doki-doki. The sound of heart beats in manga. God, you should have seen it Yumiko. That evil onee-san, you know, Yukinoshita-san's elder sister, she had corner our sweet Totsuka and she was going in for the kill, trying to rob his chastity and then Hikitani swooped in and threw a tennis net at him and delivered an epic line: Come with me if you want to live. And then, he actually offered his hand to Totsuka and they ran away hand in hand like a cute couple. Ah! Thinking about it gives me a nose bleed."

"Ah wait, don't bleed out in the clubroom, Hina. Yukinon will get super mad at me. "

"Yui what the hell kind of friend are you? Hina can faint from losing all that blood and you are worried about the stupid cleanliness of the club. That's pathetic. Here give me a hand. Hina, c'mon get yourself together. Sit on this chair."

"What about that chair?" Ebina pointed at the chair on the farthest corner of the long table in the middle of the clubroom. "It seems nice."

"That's Hikio's chair." Miura stated. "You are not sitting there."

"Why not?" Ebina asked pouting. "I could use a good massage."

In all the commotion and worry over Ebina losing blood, Miura had forgotten about the unwanted person in the clubroom and so, Sagami snorted loudly to get all their attention back on her. "Oh, so is that what the cool kids are calling it these days. Massage, huh." Sagami fixed Ebina with a withering look. "So tell me, Ebina-san. How was that freak? Was he able to last long…in your massage?"

"No," Ebina shook her head, wistfully. "He had to go to his sister to get help."

Sagami balked at the information. "His sister! What the hell did he need his sister for? Didn't he need instructions or something-?"

"Actually Sagami-senpai, onii-chan needed me to get a tampon for Ebina-senpai." A new voice said from the doorway. "You see, my stupid gomi-chan was out of his depths, so Komachi decided to help him. It was worth a lot of points, tehee~"

"Ah! Komachi-chan, thank god you are here." Yuigahama exclaimed. Finally an actual member of the service club had arrived to her rescue. "Did you see Hikki on the way or anything?"

"No," Komachi shook her head. "Last time, I checked, onii-chan was kissing Harunee-chan in the infirmary."

Miura gave Komachi a look. There was a small pause before common sense decided to reign supreme once again in the clubroom."Komachi-chan, I don't believe you." She looked at Ebina as well. "Same goes for you Ebina. I don't believe Hikio is making out with Yukinoshita in the library."

"Tehee~" The sound of laugh came from the doorway and there stood another girl. "Komachi-chan, you should have gone with something more believable. If you said something like, senpai was getting molested in the infirmary by Haruno-san, then it would be more believable."

"Isshiki-senpai!" Komachi exclaimed. "Please don't say such things about my onii-chan. I worry about his chastity."

Sagami scoffed. "Well, Komachi-chan you don't have to worry. Your precious onii-chan won't die a virgin anymore." She pointed at Ebina. "Hina already took care of it."

Komachi looked at Ebina. "Really, Ebina-san, you took care of my onii-chan. Can I start calling you my onee-chan now?"

Ebina chuckled. "Komachi-chan, last time I checked, one doesn't lose ones virginity by giving a massage you know. There has to be, you know." Ebina made a gesture with her fingers that had everyone blushing a darker shade of red. "You know, Slot A into Slot B. You know, his-"

"Ebina-san, I would humbly request you to refrain from mention vulgarities such as Hikigaya-kun's anatomy into the sanctum of this clubroom." A cold voice interjected from the doorway. "This is a place of repute, not one of your otaku conventions."

"I resent that, Yukinoshita-san." Ebina said. "Hikitani-kun will agree with me on this one. The Otaku culture is a part of our great nation. You have to accept it for what it is: A Godsend!"

Yukinoshita curled her lips in contempt. "I will take that under advisement." Now she looked at all the people gather in the clubroom. Then, she turned to Yuigahama and fixed her with an annoyed look. "Yuigahama-san, why are there so many people in the clubroom. Is everyone here with a request for the club?"

Yuigahama chuckled in embarrassment. "Well, um actually, Yukinon, well, um the thing is, these guys just wanted to hang around you know, ha-ha!"

"If these guys wanted to hang then you should have given them a rope and be done with it." A new voice said from the doorway.

"Ooo~" Ebina cooed. "Saki-Saki that was so savage. Did you have a rough day?"

"Something like that, Hina." Kawasaki took out a cigarette and lit it with a match.

Yukinoshita glared at her. "You shouldn't smoke in the clubroom, Kawasaki-san."

Kawasaki gave her a look. "Says, who?" she challenged.

"Says me." The cigarette was plucked from her fingers by a taller girl. "If you don't listen to your friend, Kawasaki-san then you should listen to your senpai."

Yuigahama greeted the older girl cheerfully. "Shiromeguri-senpai, long time no see. How are you?"

"Just fine, Yuigahama-chan. Thank you for asking. Oh by the way, I have this girl with me. She was looking for Hikigaya-kun, so I brought her to the service club. But I see, Hikigaya-kun is not here. Pity, I needed him for something. Guess there is nothing I can do about it." Shiromeguri turned to Kawasaki rather abruptly. "Is your brother Taishi around?"

"What the hell do you need him for?" Kawasaki asked in a wary tone.

"To scratch an itch." Shiromeguri replied in a frank tone.

"What!" Kawasaki shouted alarmed.

"Oh no worries, I can find him on my own. Bye." Shiromeguri left everyone standing in shock.

"Hey wait! Get back here." Kawasaki was the first to recover and ran after her.

The other girl who had come along with Shiromeguri cracked a smile. "You guys are hilarious!"

Miura recognized the girl in an instant. "What brings you here, Orimoto-san?"

Orimoto looked around the clubroom. "I am looking for Hikigaya. Do you know where I can find him, Miura-san?"

Miura crossed her arms and glared at Orimoto. "What do you want with Hikio?"

Orimoto shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing, just wanted to catch up with him. You know how it goes: me and him, we were kind of a thing and I was thinking whether we can still be a 'thing'."

"You were not a thing." Saki replied from the doorway. It seemed she had returned from giving chase to Shiromeguri-san. "We are a thing."

Yukinoshita glared at Kawasaki. "I object to the use of this word 'thing'. Hikigaya-kun, despite his rottenness should not be lowered to a thing."

Yuigahama stared at her. "But Yukinon. Don't you call Hikki a thing all the time?"

"That's different." Yukinoshita stated.

Sagami huffed. "You mean because you suck face with that guy, you can call him whatever you want."

Yukinoshita levelled her with a glare that could melt ice. "Please refrain from spouting such vile nonsense Sagami-san and kindly remove yourself from the clubroom."

"I will do no such thing." Sagami huffed. "You can't make me."

Saki lit a cigarette. "You sure about that?" She asked in a threatening tone.

Once again the cigarette was snatched from her hand by a woman in the doorway. "No smoking." Then, ignoring her own advice, the woman put the cigarette between her lips and took a lazy drag. "God, I needed that."

Saki turned around and levelled the older woman with an annoyed look. "You just said no smoking sensei."

Hiratsuka Shizuka smiled around the cigarette trapped between her lips. "I meant, no smoking for students. I am a teacher, also an adult. I can do whatever I want."

"Now that is simply not true Shizuka-chan." A voice wafted through the doorway, making everybody, except Shizuka freeze instantly. "For example you cannot enjoy a nice bubble bath with Hikigaya-kun, am I right?"

Shizuka squished the cigarette between her fingers. "Don't test me, Haruno. I am having a bad day."

Haruno smiled. "Well, aren't we all?"

The smile did not reach her eyes.

-/-/-/-/-/-

The large table in the middle of the room had to be pushed to the front to make more space and exactly eleven chairs had to be pulled up from the back to accommodate all the people gathered in the service club. At one point Miura was certain an argument would break out between Yukinoshita and Hiratsuka-sensei, the former almost forgetting her place and ordering her teacher to order each of them to kindly leave the room. But it seemed, Yukinoshita Yukino was no match to the combined strength of both Hiratsuka Shizuka and Yukinoshita Haruno and hence, she gracefully accepted her elder sister's idea to turn this into more of an impromptu kitty party. Miura was certain there was a hidden joke there somewhere. The cold glare and the loud huff emanating from the younger sister made the temperature in the entire room plummet several degrees. Yuigahama, bless her kind soul, intervened and cheerfully offered up the idea of having everyone participate in one of the more recent club activities i.e.: Giving advice to anonymous clients via emails.

Miura Yumiko should have expected everything to turn south from the very moment their teacher and club advisor, Hiratsuka Shizuka, gave her air-headed friend, Yuigahama Yui, the permission to run along with this extremely bad idea. Miura was sitting near the computer, but even then she could not possibly read the words displayed on the monitor. But she already knew the words must have been bad, because immediately, Yuigahama made a loud and embarrassing sound and actually started to grab the monitor screen and tilt it down, like she was trying to forcibly shut down a laptop. This was Yuigahama at her worst, red faced and looking everywhere for a friendly face. Miura actually felt pride swell from within her breasts when, instead of turning to her club mate, Yukinoshita Yukino, her friend turned to her and looked at her with those goey-doey eyes. Take that, Yukinoshita! Yui is still mine.

Miura stood up from her chair, threw a smug look at the ice bitch from over her shoulders and walked up to stand right behind, Yuigahama, her hand on top of the armrest of the chair, bending her back only just a little to look at the computer screen. Her friend was worried, so she had turned to her best friend for help and Miura considered it her solemn duty to help all her friends. Miura gave a big, everything is gonna be okay smile to Yuigahama and casually started to read the words displayed on the screen. Huh. Weird. She must have read wrong. Miura read the email once, twice, over three times and then closed her eyes and read it for the fourth time. It still read the same: " **How to have sex with a guy?"**

Miura snapped her neck to the right and looked at Yuigahama, blushing all over and feeling extremely embarrassed. "Is this the kind of stuff you get in the mail?"

No! Absolutely not! Miura would not allow it! Her sweet and innocently naïve friend would not be exposed to the vile and perverted world of the internet. Miura would protect Yui's innocence at all cost. She is too nice and too good for all these sick perverts. She and Hikio would protect Yui. They could even do it together.

 _Also, Miura owed Yuigahama a small debt too, because it was upon her encouragement or more likely her refusal to giveaway his personal number that Miura found the courage to seek out Hikio in the first place and ask him personally for his number. The talk between her and him over finally getting his number was a bit awkward and she had to verbally explain to him that she considered him a friend: "Get a clue, Hikio" she had said and upon getting the conformation, Hikio must have gotten embarrassed and so he ran to the infirmary to avoid her, while giving her the lame excuse: "Yukinoshita must have slipped a hallucinogen into my cup of tea." which later made Miura think the same thing she always thinks when she talks to him: "He makes no sense."_

Thinking back, Miura wondered whether it was really that farfetched to imagine the both of them talking and exchanging contact details in the middle of the class. Still, Miura took whatever Hikio said to heart and actually waited for everyone else to take a sip from their cup of tea before she could feel envious over Yukinoshita's tea brewing skills. It was tea goddammit! Tea was supposed to be an easy and equalizing force, but somehow, someway that ice bitch had to go and ruin everything, by making leaves soaked in water taste heavenly. Well, screw her. Yui still has her and she won't let her friend answer such perverted emails.

Yukinoshita Yukino saw Miura Yumiko throw her a haughty look over her shoulders, but she choose to ignore it in favour of pouring a steaming cup of tea to one of Miura's friends, Ebina Hina. Ebina Hina thanked and complimented her tea brewing skills and Yukinoshita thought it was enough to make Miura burn with envy over her lack of skills even in simple process of brewing tea. But when Yukinoshita turned around to silently gloat at Miura's plight, she instead found her standing near her first friend, Yuigahama Yui and staring deeply into the computer screen.

 _For a second, Yukinoshita wondered whether one of the service club's regular clients, Yoshiteru Zaimokuza, had emailed her a new draft and they might have been embarrassed by the gross fan service therein. But last time there had been none and when she had asked him about the same, the lack of lascivious writing, Zaimokuza –san had offered her a charming explanation: "I thought it was very disrespectful for a noble man to force a fair maiden to read such lustful litanies." Oddly enough, she was taken aback by his display of chivalry and even blushed at his farewell greeting: "'Til we meet again, my fair lady." However, his charming display did not dissuade her from commenting the truth: "He must be suffering from a severe mental condition."_

Ebina Hina took a small sip from the new batch of her steaming cup of tea and gently rose up from her chair to take a look at two of her friends, Yuigahama Yui and Miura Yumiko, huddled around the computer and completely engrossed in its contents. For a second, she presumed that Yukinoshita Yukino, being the club president, would walk over to the computer and check them out. However, Yukinoshita seemed to have decided not to involve herself in the matter for the moment and instead chose to play the part of the good host and pour tea and hand out biscuits to all the guests, gathered in her clubroom. Ebina could admire her efforts while walking over to her friends and taking a small look at the monitor screen: **"How to have sex with a guy?"**

Easy. Neither of them saw her hovering behind them and when she reached over and started typing the words on the keyboards, the look on both their faces were absolutely priceless. Yuigahama looked shocked and scandalised and embarrassed and Miura was doing not much well herself, blushing a horrible shade of red, while trying to move out of the way of her hands and then actually trying to cover he mouth when she started speaking out the words she had started to type in her reply **:** **"Try not doing it when you are on your period."**

"Hina! For God sake don't say those words out loud. Yui's here! Yui cover your ears and look away from the screen. Listen to me now, listen to me."

"Hey, don't talk to me like a child. I have those too, you know. And Hina what are you doing? Please stop typing all those embarrassing stuff. You will scare away the girl. That will be very bad. Not nice at all."

"Relax Yui. I am doing her a favour. This is good advice. I am stopping the girl from scaring off the guy. Can you imagine the look on his face at the sight of all that blood? He would be left traumatised for life. No sex for him and no sex for her. Unless she gets a new guy, that is. Now that would more bad, right? Not nice at all, eh Yui."

"…Maybe"

"Yui! Stop encouraging Hina! And you, Hina, stop all this nonsense right now. You are corrupting my poor Yui."

 _Hina chuckled at the usual antics of her friends. Miura was extremely protective of all her friends and she remembered the time, when she went so far as to ask Kawasaki Saki for help. Now Kawasaki was her friend. But she did not get well with Miura at all and the feelings seemed to be the same from Miura's end as well. However, when Ebina was in pain and both Miura and Kawasaki came to help her at the same time, it was kind of sweet to watch Miura, trying to play nice with Kawasaki while also, trying to suppress her mother-henning tendencies. In the end, Miura let Kawasaki take her to the infirmary. It was a good gesture. It was then, when Kawasaki had left her in the infirmary that Hikitani-kun arrived, complaining about food poison and to tell the truth, she was kind of embarrassed of the situation. But the pain of menstrual cramps overrode the awkwardness of the situation and she probably scared the hell out of poor Hikitani, when she straight up ordered him to massage her: "Use both your index fingers and draw a heart by curving around the belly button, yeah! Like that, now stop at my belly button at move back to the original position." "Really? A heart?" "Do you go through with this every month or do I? Clearly I know what I am doing."_

Thinking about their light banter from that day, feeling the phantom touches of his fingers on her body right now, made her almost moan out loud like she did several times on that same day and left him embarrassed. But it would be super awkward to moan out loud of apparently no good reason, so she tried to control herself and instead typed a few new words on the keyboard: **"The guy should also know how to how to give a good massage."**

Three separate clinks of glass rang out loud in the clubroom, teacups hitting saucers, leaving people coughing and spitting tea in an almost comical manner and earning the dire ire of one, Yukinoshita Yukino, observing all the three culprits of this little nuisance and glaring at them from her corner of the room and almost forcing them to word out an apologize for their rudeness.

"Stop looking at me like that Yukinoshita. I am your sensei. Okay. Alright, I am sorry."

"Me too, Yukino-chan. Please forgive poor Komachi."

"…Yeah, what they said."

It was then, when Ebina realised that she had said those words out loud and turning around, she saw the three of them, namely, Hiratsuka Shizuka, Hikigaya Komachi and Kawasaki Saki, all of them blushing a darker shade of red and fidgeting in their respective chairs, making the cup in their hands shake and spill tea on to their plates. There was no reason for any of them to blush, Ebina thought, even though there might have been a reason for them to apologize to Yukinoshita.

Sagami Minami was annoyed. The tea was nice, even though she would never say it to Yukinoshita, but now, this was it! The atmosphere around the clubroom was getting awkward for no apparent reason whatsoever and she knew it was those twos fault: Miura and Ebina. They were bullying poor, Yui. The freak's little sister, their homeroom teacher and even that crazy delinquent, had heard the class pervert, fill the air with such inappropriate things and instead of doing something about the situation, they actually clinked their tea cups in a toast and then apologized to the glaring Yukinoshita for some reason. It did not make any sense. Grh! Now she was sounding like that blonde bimbo. Screw that!

Sagami walked over to the computer and read the contents of the screen. To her, it seemed extremely simple and so, she quickly went about typing her response on the keyboard, before the likes of Miura and Ebina could intervene: **"Try fucking him on the roof."**

"Woah! That sounds kinky."

"Zip it Hina! And Sagami, no one asked you to help. We were doing fine on our own."

"Like hell you were. You guys were just bullying, Yui."

"That's so not true. C'mon Yui. Tell her. I was helping, right."

"Eh, um, you know, Mina, um, there is no need for such strong language, you know."

"What the hell, Yui? You are okay with having sex on the freaking roof!"

"….um, no?"

"That sounded more like a question, Yui."

"Again, shut up, Sagami. No one asked your opinion. And you! I can't believe you, Yui. That really did sound more like a question to me too. I can't believe this. Hina, do something! Tell her, she is out of her freaking mind, if she thinks she can have sex with a stranger on the freaking roof of our school!"

"Aw Miura. Don't be like that. You will get an aneurism. And look at you, Yui. All grown up and getting your freak on, on the roof. I am so proud of you, Yui! I think this is what a parent feels like. Don't you think so too, Yumiko."

"…Hina I say this as your friend. But seriously, get your head examined."

"Haha! Will do."

 _Sagami Minami looked at the entire exchange. It was oddly familiar to the time they had all been a part of the same clique. But then, Miura had shown her interest in Hayama Hayato and turned into a blonde bitch. The clique had turned toxic, so she stopped hanging around with them and made some new friends. Losing touch with Yui, hit her heard, but she was fine. They still talked, sometimes. However, gradually, she too turned into a bitch. The moment when she tried to seduce Hayama Hayato on the rooftop of their school came to mind: "Just remember Hayama-kun. You did me a favour back then, during the cultural festival fiasco. And I would be more than happy to return the favour. Anytime." "Go-Good to know." During that moment, she had even made that prince of their school blush with her forwardness. She was not really that aggressive, but having overheard Ebina and Hikigaya in the infirmary, moaning and 'messaging' (yeah like she would ever believe that!) she must have reacted a bit out of character and propositioned Hayama on the roof. Later, it seemed like a relied that he had actually declined her offer._

Komachi had been looking at the people gathering near the computer the entire time. But now that she was a real member of the club, she actually had a real reason to go check on them. However, Yuigahama-san had spotted her and she quickly pressed the backspace button and deleted some of the text on the screen. Her action infuriated, Sagami-senpai very quickly.

"Hey Yui! What the hell did you do that for?"

"Mina! Not right now! Komachi-chan is coming."

"So?"

"So nothing! Be nice."

"Fine. But it's only because I like her. But, I still don't like her brother."

"Don't worry, Sagami-senpai! I don't think my onii-chan likes you too."

"Tch. Cheeky brat."

"Don't insult, Komachi-chan. Let go off me, Hina. I will teach Sagami a lesson, right here, right now."

"Easy, Yumiko. The way you are swinging your arms around, you might accidentally hurt Komachi-chan, you know. That will make Hikitani angry, you know and then he will never forgive you."

"…Yeah. You are right. Thank, Hina. Come here, Komachi-chan. Wait, don't come. Your brother will hate me if you see this. Quick Yui! Delete the mail.'

"Um, Sagami, help. Please"

"Urg. Fine. What do you want?"

"Please, don't let Komachi come near the computer."

"…I'm not doing that. Like Ebina said, I might accidentally hurt the brat. And then her brother will have my head on a pike. I might hate the freak, but I am not cruel enough to get back at him by hurting his little sister."

"You choose a fine time to grow a conscience."

"Stuff it, Miura."

However while all three of them were busy bantering with one another, Komachi quickly read the email and started typing her response: **"Love the guy!"**

"Aww that's so sweet, Komachi-chan."

"Thank you, Yui-chan."

Komachi typed further. **"Kiss the guy."**

"Ooh Nice. Now it's getting interesting. Keep going, Komachi-chan."

"Thanks, Hina-chan."

"Wait, don't encourage her. Komachi-chan, stop!"

But Komachi did not listen to Miura and typed the final sentence: **"Ask the guy to kiss you in front of the other girls and make everyone of them jealous."**

Miura Yumiko started at the typed words on the screen. From beside her, Yuigahama took a deep breath. Behind her, Ebina was trying very hard not to burst out in laughter and of course, Sagami had the audacity to give a low whistle in appreciation.

"Damn brat! That's some wicked stuff. You really are your brother's sister."

"Thank you, Sagami-senpai."

 _Unbeknownst to them, three other individuals had grown embarrassed of the entire situation, namely, Yuigahama Yui, Isshiki Iroha and herself, Yukinoshita Yukino. She really felt like pointing out the obvious from way back. There was no need for any of them to speak out loud the words that they were typing. It was needless and useless form of torture. Sipping her tea and trying to keep herself aloof from the present situation, Yukinoshita Yukino chose to look back into their past ordeal. It was a seemingly normal day, club hours had already begun but Hikigaya-kun had not arrived yet. Then, he finally came and immediately started talking to his sister. Not for the first time, Yukinoshita thought back on her decision to make Komachi-chan a member of the service club. Hikigaya-kun and Komachi- chan were incredibly close. Too close. Even for siblings. It was creepy and now both of them laughed at their bro-con and sis-con tendencies. On that day, Hikigaya-kun had come to the clubroom and asked her sister to hand him a tampon. She herself, Yuigahama-san and Isshiki-san had grown extremely embarrassed of his demands and had tried their level best to reform him, insult him, change him, to leave his wicked ways behind him. But his sister had put them all in their respective place by a blatant display of affection. However, her words were anything but affectionate: "I know that the three of you would kill to be in my shoes, just about now." "Pardon me, Komachi-san, but I think it is hardly worth the overall embarrassment." "You are right about that part Yukino-chan but that's not what I am talking about. I am talking about the part where onii-chan kissed me in the cheek when I asked him to. Right about here."_

Yukinoshita Yukino took a sip from her cup of tea. No. She would not get involved in this. Yuigahama-chan actually looked a little bit annoyed by the antics of Komachi-chan at the moment. Good. It seemed she was trying to find Hikigaya-kun once again. However, her latest attempt included looking for one of his friends.

"Hey, have you guys seen Sai-chan by any chance."

"Totsuka-san? Nope. Why do you ask, Yui."

"Well, it's because they are close, Yumiko."

"You know, Yui-chan. I am pretty close to him too. I mean, I am his little sister."

"Yeah, okay. Um, Hina, do you know where Sai-chan is."

"Whaa! Yui-chan completely ignored me."

"Damn brat! You must have done something to piss her off. Yui, doesn't get angry at anyone."

"I am not angry, Minami. I am just a little…annoyed."

"Ooh, Komachi-chan you have done it now. Yui never admits that she is annoyed. This means, she is really angry with you."

"That's not true, Hina."

 _While talking to her friends and trying her best not to be to annoyed with Komachi-chan, Yuigahama tried to remember the last time, she had actually spoken to Sai-chan. It was during that time when he had taken a break from his tennis practice and they just sat around on a bench and had a nice talk about Hikki. It was nice. She had actually used one of Hikki's methods and made Sai-chan admit that he liked someone. It made her feel really smart. Then they talked about other things like how she was jealous of him and how he was jealous of Hikki and his closeness to her. It really didn't make much sense to her at that time. However, it was also the first time someone else said something to her that she always wanted to hear: "He is close to you Yui-chan." "Oh, you think so, Sai-chan." "Yeah, he is."_

In the end, Yuigahama decided against it and thought about contacting another one of his friends. Well, technically he was not his friend, but still it counts.

"Hey, Hina. Do you know where Tobe is? Maybe he knows where we can find Hikki."

"Um, I don't know, Yui. He is busy with soccer practice."

 _Hiratsuka Shizuka finished her cup of tea and took out a cigarette, while toying with the idea of whether or not to risk the ire of Yukinoshita yet again to indulge her bad habits. Till now, there had been one small fumble on her end and that was because her student had mentioned something about sex and massage. Those two words brought back pleasant memories. But, hearing the name of one of her more idiotic of students made her feel a less pleasant type of feeling. One day, Tobe had created a ruckus in the infirmary and she was called in to rein him in. The talk they had was painful to remember: "You said she was havin girl problems. I get it. Just like when a guy has girl problems maybe lesbians could also have girl problems, you know what I mean." Like she said, it was painful, absolutely painful and she was not in the mood to explain stuff life menstrual cycle to him-not back then and now right now._

"There's no need to call Tobe."

"But sensei."

"I said there's no need, Yuigahama. Listen to your sensei."

Yuigahama fell silent. Hiratsuka-sensei was adamant. Tobe must have pissed her off somehow. He must have stared at her breasts or worse called her old or something. That meant, it was futile to approach her. She would not budge. So, Yuigahama turned to her friend again and silently pleaded to do something about the situation.

 _Miura looked at the pleading look in Yui's eyes then she turned and looked at the anger burning in the eyes of Hiratsuka-sensei. She gulped. Those eyes of hers brought back memories. On one hand it was nice. Hikio was hiding from their sensei and he had pulled her into his hiding spot and she was practically hugging him and snuggling deep into his chest. It was warm and comfortable and Hikio's voice sent shivers down her spine: "Listen Miura. I know this might be a problem for you but it seems like we have to stay like this for a while." Was he kidding? She would have gladly stayed with him like this for ever._

 _But then, when Hikio told her that it was Tobe that had sent the psychotic sensei on their tail, Miura was not please. She was angry and wanted to seriously hurt Tobe for putting them in a bad situation. But even then, Hikio had made her see reason. He told her that Tobe was worried because Hina was in the infirmary and he didn't know what to think of it so he created a ruckus and somehow managed to make Hiratsuka-sensei mad. But it was okay because like he said: "All is fair in love and war." His words made her blush, but she still wanted to hit Tobe. In the end it was simple._

"You know what Yui. I don't think Tobe would know where, Hikio is?"

"Why not Yumiko?"

"Because, he is an idiot. What else."

Like always, the club hours rolled, the hands of the clock ticked and time continued to pass. But there was no Hikigaya-kun, no Hikki, no senpai, no gomi-chan, no Hikio, no Hikitani-kun, and definitely no Hachiman to be his usual rotten self.

One chair remained empty.

-/-/-/-/-

A/N: Woah! It's been ages since I wrote such a big chapter (6800+ words). Not bad right? Well, thank you everyone for picking the Miura option in the Reboot. It made things easy. I hope it jogged everyone's memories of the earlier chapter. Now for the next chapter I can do two things:

Option One: Complete the Interlude (All The Single Ladies Part II)

Option Two: Start the New Arc

Please, pick one.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams.


	79. Chapter 79 All The Single Ladies Part II

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 79: Interlude (All the Single Ladies) Part II

The blonde haired fire queen was a good match for the equally blonde haired charming prince of Sobu High and though there was a time when the likes of her would have been left in the background, seething in envy at their usual tales of romance and adventure, but right now, she would have been genuinely happy for the couple and would have even gone on to congratulate them on their happy union, because at the present moment, Orimoto Kaori could not stand the notion of ever falling in love with a person that was not a certain rotten dead fished eyed, self-proclaimed loner with a distinctive ahoge, named, Hikigaya Hachiman.

The realisation of actually liking Hikigaya Hachiman came to her in a rather gradual manner when on a previous visit to the school, Orimoto Kaori, accidentally stumbled upon none other than her one time crush, namely, Hayama Hayato. Truth be told, he still looked handsome and dashing and dapper and the smile on his face still remained dazzling to the eyes. But, Orimoto did not swoon at the mere sight of him and actually managed to talk to him without completely embarrassing herself and true to her personality, when he refused to recognize her even though they had met on a number of previous occasions, she played along to his joke, carried on with the dumb charade and eventually, taught him a good lesson that hopefully he would never forget in the near distant future. The look on his face was priceless on several occasions and it was really hilarious to make fun of him and have him laugh at his own expense.

When Hayama learned the person, Orimoto, was looking for was none other than, Hikigaya Hachiman, the carefully crafted mask of charisma and charm actually slipped from his face and there was a mixture of jealousy and hate visible on his face which was downright confusing to her back then, but now, it was beginning to make perfect sense to her. Everybody loved, Hayama Hayato, for the more than life persona he projected on to others, but the small number of people that actually cared for Hikigaya Hachiman, genuinely cared for him, rotten personality and dead fish eyes and everything.

The look on his face when, Orimoto, asked him out for coffee was one of pain and hurt, but when she clarified to him further that she was actually asking him out as a friend and not as a potential date, he looked more relieved than it was thought to be normal. It was then, she realised the inherent fakeness of his charming personality. He was not even his own person. Orimoto Kaori felt foolish for ever thinking to love such a person and so, she left Hayama Hayato, reeling, standing alone in the empty corridor of the school and went on to go look for the only person she wanted to see at the moment, namely, Hikigaya Hachiman. Her last words to Hayato were never truer: "I prefer my men a little more real and genuine."

Orimoto Kaori thought her words must have hurt, Hayama Hayato, rather deeply because even now, it seemed, his blonde haired girlfriend, Miura Yumiko, was angry on his behalf and was in the process of aiming quite a few murderous glares in her direction from her spot in the front of the room, by the humble looking desktop computer kept in the corner, where at least four other girls, including, Yuigahama Yui, Ebina Hina, Sagami Minami, and Hikigaya Komachi, were currently busy discussing a matter pertaining to provide a suitable enough reply to a crude piece of email received from an anonymous sender.

However, Miura Yumiko felt like she had more than a legitimate reason to glare at Orimoto Kaori for even being in the clubroom and having the actual audacity to wait patiently with the rest of them for the eventual return of Hikigaya Hachiman. Her Hikio was hers alone and though there was that time when she accidentally overheard them talking about their past, discussing the kind of regrets they had over certain choices they made and certain decisions they took and eventually agreeing to give themselves another chance in at least being each other's friends again, it was clear to Miura that this girl was not worth the effort, not worth the second chance. This Orimoto girl was just trouble. She actually called Hikio sexy and got away with it! Well, technically it wasn't like that, it was more a bit indirect. She called him a dork first, then said, dorky is the new sexy, but Hikio blushed either way and it looked so cute and Miura was horrified at watching all this unfold from her hiding spot, knowing this would never happen with her and it was mortifying and embarrassing and kinda pathetic in the same time. Even when she confronted the two of them, this Orimoto girl came upto her and admitted in a confident voice that, she and him, they were kind of a 'thing' in the past and what was even worse was that Hikio confirmed it for her. Despicable! No! Miura will not have that image pop up in her head. Never! Though imagining a shirt-less Hikio was super hot! But seriously, Miura hated that Orimoto girl, maybe even more than Sagami and that was saying something about the level of hate directed at the girl from the other school.

While Miura Yumiko was busy glaring at Orimoto Kaori from the front of the room, Kawasaki Saki was busy glaring at her from the back of the room. Kawasaki remembered the day quite well and the mere sight of having that dumb lazy bum parade around the school with another one of his latest floozies left a bad taste in her mouth and she decided against going to him for a little bit of money to help her brother from a financial situation. It was also at that moment when, Kawasaki, made the dreadful mistake of going to Hayama Hayato to ask him for the money and that guy was on a completely different level altogether, because he thought, she was actually extorting him and didn't really understood the concept of borrowing a bit of cash. Talking to richie rich felt disgusting on a personal level because every time they talked the similarities between him and that lazy bum were even more visible. They thought on the same level and it was kinda creepy. In the end, she couldn't do it, she couldn't get the money for her little brother and she was fine with it, but the blonde bastard wouldn't listen to her and so, she took the money from him, but left the scrunchie gifted to her by her little sister as a collateral just in case. It felt wrong to have her hair down like this in front of a guy and the blonde bastard actually gawked at her and called her beautiful and like she expected, he got the wrong idea and she had to make sure the scrunchie was the only thing he was getting from her. She did leave with the money, but at a sudden sick thought, she turned around and saw him sniffing the scrunchie. It was creepy as hell and she didn't want to take it back from him. It felt like the scrunchie was violated in a weird kind of way by that blonde creeps touch. But in the very next day, somehow, someway, the other weirdo, the more likeable weirdo, had left a small note under her desk, along with the scrunchie. The note simply read that the scrunchie was thoroughly washed and cleaned properly and should she ever need to borrow money, she could simply come to the service club and ask their ice-bitch president. She was wealthier than the blonde bastard. Typical, she thought. He did all the work and took no credit for his actions. Guess, the lazy bum wasn't that lazy at all. Really, it was one of his more admirable qualities. He would make a good husband! Eek! Where did that come from!? Nope, no, she was not thinking about that at all. Imagine their children! They would have his rotten dead fish eyes! What the hell!? Their children! Screw that! Keep glaring Saki! Teach that floozy a lesson! Hachiman will never be hers. He belongs to me, Kawasaki Saki.

Orimoto Kaori took a deep, cleansing breath and rather abruptly stood up from her seat. She had enough of the glares and frankly she was bored with all the unbridled hate oozing into the clubroom which seemed to be directed at her for no apparent reason at all. The walk to the computer was quick and swift and the only question she asked to any of them was directed to the nicest of girls in the entire universe. Orimoto had nothing on her.

"Yuigahama-san, can I give it a shot."

"Oh, um, Orimoto –san, you mean, you want to type in a reply to the email."

"Yes, so, can I?"

"Oh, um, okay, go ahead."

"Thanks."

It took only three words to disturb the balance of the service club. Orimoto Kaori typed each word and simultaneous, spoke them out loud for everyone in the clubroom to hear and as of those were said out loud the hackles of the members of the service club arose and erupted into a concoction of nerves and pure chaos and anarchy: Yukinoshita Yukino, the calm and collected ice queen of Sobu High, the president of the service club chipped one of her tea cups and actually managed to spill a drop of tea onto the floor, while the sweet and innocent, the nicest of nice girls, the one and only, Yuigahama Yui, rolled back her tongue and spat out an expletive in the harshest of voice imaginable:

"Fuck."

"…Did I hear that, right?"

"Of course not! Get your ears examined, Sagami."

"But it sounded an awful lot like a curse word."

"It did not! Tell her, Hina. Yui, said duck right. Yeah, yeah she did. What she meant was, was, you know, for you to duck! Yeah, Yui said fuck, shit, I mean duck, to you, yes, you! Because I am about to slap you in the face this instant and Yui being Yui, nice and all and everything, didn't want you to get hurt. Isn't that right, Hina?"

"…I don't know anymore."

"What the hell! Hina don't die! This isn't the end of the world.'

"Sure feels like it. Yui just dropped the F Bomb!"

"…Komachi wants her gomi-chan."

"Wait, are those actual tears?"

"Komachi wants her onii-chan now!"

"Shit! The brat switched to onii-chan mode. This just got serious! Hey, who has the freaks number?"

"I do!"

"No really. Who has the freaks number? Hiratsuka-sensei might have it since she is our homeroom teacher and everything."

"Zip it, Sagami! I told you I have the freaks, I mean, Hachiman's number. Now shut the hell up and let me dial his number."

"…Now way, you weren't lying. You really do have his number."

"He! He! I told you I did."

"…That's a creepy laugh."

"No it's not. You have a creepy laugh!"

"I think it's cute."

"Of course you would! You are creepy yourself, you damn fujoshi."

"…Miura-senpai, did you get my onii-chan!"

"Sorry Komachi-chan, but he is not picking up."

"Maybe, he is playing with Kamakura-chan."

"He better not. I hate that cat."

"…Miura-san."

"Oh God! Oh God! Oh God! Oh God!"

"…Miura-san."

"Yumiko run!"

"Of course not!"

"Miura jump off the window. It's closer."

"You would like that won't you, Sagami."

"…Miura-san."

"Miura senpai, hurry, Yukino-chan, seems to have a tea cup in her hand."

"Don't worry, Komachi-chan. Perhaps, she wants to pour me another glass of tea. No thanks, Yukinoshita. I am fine. I don't need your stinking tea!"

"…"

"…"

"Wow, even I know that's a mistake."

"Shut up Sagami! What the hell is she gonna do with a tea cup anyway."

Yukinoshita Yukino took the tea cup and smashed it on the backrest of an unoccupied chair, leaving jagged tooth like shards sticking out from the end of the broken handle. Those looked sharp and deadly and painful to the softest of touch.

"…Miura-san."

"Oh shit!"

-/-/-/-

It took the combined effort of none other than Yukinoshita Haruno, Hiratsuka Shizuka, Hikigaya Komachi and Yuigahama Yui, to return the cat-loving, flat-chested beast, to her human form, simply knows as Yukinoshita Yukino. Of course, Miura Yumiko had to deliver the sincerest of apologies, not to her, but to the entire feline kingdom. It was a small victory. Of course not! She had to apologize to Yukinoshita too. That bitch!

"Okay, let's see. Now that we don't have to worry about Miura over here getting mauled alive, I think we can all return to doing what we were doing earlier. Okay! Yeah, great! So let's see. The email asks a simple question…oh wow! Um, how to have sex with a guy… Hmm, I think, that's a well, um, question, yeah it's um definitely a question, really, does the service club gets this kinda emails a lot. I think, as a club advisor I should have been made aware of this. Well, anyway, can't cry over spilt milk. Thank God it isn't over spilt blood. Now, that would lead to a lot of tears, yours mostly, Miura."

"I didn't know you cared, sensei."

"Oh! I don't. But, I kinda love my job. And with that being said let's get back to it. So, the last one reads: Make it Genuine."

"…Orimoto-san."

"…Yes."

"...Yes what, Orimoto-san."

"…Um, yes, Yukinoshita-san."

"Try better."

"…Um, yes, Yukinoshita-sama?"

"…Are you mocking me?"

"…"

"If you like long silences, then you can be silenced forever, Orimoto-san. Yuigahama-san, could you please pass me an empty teacup."

"C'mon Yukinoshita! Do I really need to get there? Again. Let's forget that. How about we keep things going. Okay, Miura, you have anything."

"What are you asking me for? I just got out of this mess. I think I will be traumatised for life."

"But you won't speak ill of cat's right."

"Yeah, right."

"…Miura-san."

"No of course not! Here, you know what. I think I will go next: Look after the cat."

"Is that euphemism for the guy?"

"No, Sagami. It means if you want to have sex with the guy, you have to take care of its cat's first. You know, talk to it, hug it, care for it."

"You said that twice."

"I don't see you saying anything."

"…Sagami-san."

"Um, brush its fur."

"…Acceptable."

"As Kamakura-chan's older sister I second that."

"…Komachi-san, I want to be Kamakura-chan's onee-san."

"Ne, Yukinon. Are you trying to marry into the family to get close to Kamakura-chan?"

"Yes, Yuigahama-san. I am glad you understood."

"Okay. It's getting a little weird."

"No it's not, sensei. Kamakura-chan is a good topic of conversation. I am sure many of the guests would like to talk on this matter.

"…Okay. This is not helping. I will go instead: If the guy wants to have sex with me then he should better know how to give me a damn good foot massage."

"But, sensei, that's not what the email asked."

"I don't care about that stupid e-mail Yuigahama. I am tired and overworked and I want to go home and rest and drink and smoke and get a full body massage. Oh, he should really know how to give a full body massage. Let's put it on the list. I see, Ebina mentioned a kind of massage in the beginning, but mine is better, more defined and set up a few guidelines. Hmm, good job anyway, Ebina."

"Thanks sensei."

"Um, sensei, can I add a suggestion to the list?"

"Sure, Shiromeguri and stop calling me sensei. You are not my student anymore. Call me, Hiratsuka-san if you want."

"Don't listen to her Meguri. Call her Shizuka-chan. I do."

"Okay, Haruno-senpai."

"Wow, you will listen to her, but not to me, your own sensei."

"Um, you just asked me not to call you sensei anymore."

"Not the point. Anyway, what's your suggestion?"

"I like young guys."

"That's really not what the email is about, Shiromeguri-senpai."

"No, Yuigahama. Let her finish. Yes, go on."

"Like I said, I like young guys and I like to jump their bones when they are on their way to the bathroom to take care of their erection. I could lend them a hand and make it enjoyable for everyone."

"…Ebina?"

"Yes, Yumiko."

"Blood is coming out through your nose."

"She used plurals. Plurals!"

"Oh, I am sorry for the misunderstanding, Ebina-san. I used the plural for a more broad and general sense."

"You definitively did not, Meguri."

"You know me too well, Haruno-senpai."

"…I'm not letting you come fifteen feet of Taishi you hear me!"

"Oh, Kawasaki-san, I could eat you."

"Ah too sexy!"

"Ebina, why are you getting a nose bleed? This is not your stuff."

"But, Yumiko it's too sexy!"

"She's like a weird combination between Yukinoshita, Yui and Ebina. It's cute and scary and perverted all at the same time."

"I couldn't put it better myself. Thank you Sagami-san."

"Please, don't mention it. Also don't touch me."

"I am bi."

"I don't care. Again, please don't touch me."

"Okay, enough said. Um, let's get back to it. So, we have Shiromeguri and her preference and her weird fetishes. Um, Shiromeguri, don't touch my student. Please, I don't want to council them back from the trauma. Being the student councillor sucks. Thank God, Orimoto-san is from a different school."

"I am okay."

"Of course you are dear. And please stop chewing your tea. Try drinking it."

"I like chewing tea. It's like chewing soup."

"…Orimoto-san, are you mocking my tea brewing skills."

"…Mommy, I wanna go home."

"Eh, Orimoto-san, I am not your mommy. Don't you remember me? I'm Yui. Yuigahama Yui."

"Damn, Yui, doesn't like her at all. She calls her by her last name."

"I noticed. And she actually calls you by your first name and everyone hates you, Sagami."

"Zip it, Miura."

"I am getting bored. This is getting boring."

"Nee-san, you repeated the same sentence. Twice. I don't like it."

"Eh, don't try those tricks on me, Yukino-chan. I am your older sister, you know. They won't work on me. Remember the last time you wanted to confront me."

"…You mean the time I, Yuigahama-san, Miura-san, Kawasaki-san, and Hikigaya-kun confronted you."

"Not at all. That wasn't a confrontation. It was more of a nice evening chat. No, I am talking about the time, when I locked you in my room and made you watch those videos. Remember those. Those cute little kittens were only a month old, only thirty days of walking on this earth with those cute little paws of theirs. I know you loved them."

"…Nee-san please."

"It was all CGI, you know. But it was all quite very graphic. Even for my taste. Nothing as simple and easy as watching a basket full of kittens drown. None of that. It was all very innovative and new."

"…Nee-san please."

"Puts a whole new twist to the word cat got your tongue. I'm pretty sure those hungry alligator got something."

"…Nee-san."

"There you go. Sleep. Have sweet dreams."

"She didn't fall asleep, Haruno. She fell unconscious! And she is more than likely to have nightmares from that cheap trick you pulled."

"Oh, I know Shizuka-chan. But you have to admit, my dear little sister was getting a tad annoying."

"You are right there. Speaking of which, hey, Haruno-san, I have got a question. Is it true that you traumatised that weird, silver haired, fat-guy from that other class, what was his name again, Zaimokuza or something."

"That's true, Sagami-san."

"Nice. What about Totsuka-san. Did you get to him too, when you were rounding on that freaks friend?"

"…First off all, Sagami-san, I would ask you to refrain from calling my Hachiman a freak. I find that word detestable and inappropriate to the likes of him. And you have already seen what I do to my own sister, so you cannot even imagine what I will do to you. Do I make myself clear?"

"…Of course."

"Wow. Even, Haruno-san, hates Sagami."

"No, shock there, Hina."

"Now, onto the matter with Totsuka-san and to answer your question, yes and no; I did get to Totsuka-san and I was about to make him suffer, but I was a little too late and Hachiman turned up to save him by throwing a tennis net of all things on me and that immobilized me from following them any further."

"Oh! I was there, Haruno-san and it was magnificent. Hachiman and Totsuka ran away from you, hand in hand, hand in hand! It was so romantic."

"Ebina, you are losing too much blood."

"I don't care! Ahhh!"

"Well that's that. The damn fujoshi is finally down."

"Um, guys, I don't mean to be rude, but shouldn't we take them to the infirmary by now. I mean we have Orimoto-san, trying to chew on tea and then we have Yukinon here, lying unconscious and now Hina too is lying in a puddle of her own blood! This situation is getting out of hand. We need Hikki."

"Yui is right. Except for the Hikki part."

"Eh, no fair, Sagami!"

"Yeah, Hikio could always turn a situation on its head."

"I agree. Shizuka-chan, where is Hachiman."

"The hell do I know. He's probably back home by now."

"….Well, it been fun everyone. But Komachi needs to get back home."

"Hey, wait! Listen to you Yui-chan"

"Komachi-chan! Listen to your Miura-senpai."

"Damn, that brat turned out to be the smartest of us all."

"Well, you have to admit. She is his little sister."

"Do you think they sleep together?"

"I don't like to think about it, Haruno."

"Me neither, Shizuka-chan."

-/-/-/-/-

A/N: And that's all folks. From the next chapter onwards it's the beginning of a new arc. You have eleven girls to choose from, so choose wisely and I will start the next chapter with that pairing, then move onto another one, then another one, then, well you know how it goes. However, you get to choose the format of the story from here on:

Option one: Make it a series of multiple-pairing and interconnected one-shots.

Option two: Make it a collection of short stories.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams.


	80. Chapter 80 Failure

Don't Own Oregairu.

Chapter 80: Failure

Characters: Komachi, Hachiman.

It was not her fault, but that didn't make her feel less unhappy over the entire situation and it was rather ridiculous in the first place, because only stupid people were supposed to catch a cold in summer and Komachi was not stupid! Accho! Sniff. Sniff. It was so unfair! The surprise test was on maths. Of course! Out of all the subjects it had to be maths. Her entire family- well except for her mother- was extremely stupid when it came to this particular subject. Even her father was not that good and he worked as an accountant for this multi-million corporate firm. Of course, he got to have a calculator to make his life easy. But not poor Komachi, and to make everything even worse, she came down with a cold. Officially, her life sucked!

"Komachi, dinner's ready. Time to eat." Onii-chan announced from outside the door.

Komachi made a face. No! She was not hungry. She was sad! The growling in her stomach was not coming from her stomach… it was coming from under her bed, because that's where the monster was, the test paper monster, scrunched up into a paper ball and kicked under the bed with all the strength and frustration Komachi could muster in her weak state.

"Onii-chan, Komachi is not feeling hungry." She said a tad too loudly to make it sound firm and serious.

"…But I made curry." Onii-chan replied in a soft voice.

"You always make curry, Onii-chan. It's like the only thing you can make that is really good." Komachi said in a matter of fact tone of voice.

"Not true. I can make other stuff too. But I like to eat your cooking. So, I purposefully make the other stuff I cook less tasty." Onii-chan explained, displaying the patented rottenness he is infamous for in his high school.

"…Even the broccoli." Komachi asked, remembering the taste. It was horrible and it was already broccoli. That took talent…or not talent at all depending on the person. God forbid, it was her brother and not Yui-senpai. Now that was a recipe for disaster.

"Especially the broccoli." Her Onii-chan repeated, and she could almost picture him, standing outside the door, nodding his head to make the point. "Now get up Komachi. The food is getting cold."

"I am not hungry!" Komachi repeated.

"…But I made curry." Hachiman replied.

"You always make curry, Onii-chan." She said again.

"…Didn't we just have this conversation?" Hachiman asked after a small pause.

"Yes." Komachi affirmed.

"Oh, good. So, um, Komachi, you want some food." Her brother was adamant. Sometimes it was really endearing, but at times it got super annoying.

"…I'm not hungry." Komachi repeated.

"…Okay. I'm coming in." Hachiman replied, firmly.

Komachi lifted her face from the pillow and silently glared at her brother when he entered her bedroom. Of course the glare had no effect on him. Her Onii-chan was immune to the cute glares of his sweet, little sister. The only glares which could leave a lasting effect on him were his mother's. Now those were really scary. But his father got the worse ones. The day he forgot their anniversary…even thinking about it sent shivers down his spine. His poor dad! Well, to be fair, he did forget. But Mom, got a ring out of it, so, um…he should really be focusing on his little sister now.

"Komachi, what happened?" He asked.

"Nothing." She replied.

"C'mon, Komachi, tell Onii-chan the truth." Her brother was persistent.

"Nothing happened, Onii-chan." His sister was resolute.

"…I made chicken." He changed tactics.

"I thought you made curry." She was clever to spot them.

"I made chicken as well as curry." He replied trying to be cleverer.

"Did you remember to make rice?" Komachi asked, smiling.

"…That happened only once, Komachi." Hachiman blushed in embarrassment.

"What kind of an idiot forgets to cook rice." Komachi said, remembering.

"Dad did." Hachiman deflected.

"He had a busy day in the office." Komachi defended her father.

"Well, I had a busy day in school." Hachiman defended the indefensible.

"You were in middle school, onii-chan." Komachi stated.

"Well, so were you and look at you now. A high school student already! Acing tests, getting good marks, making everyone proud! We are so proud of you Komachi…Especially me!" Hachiman beamed. It was a bad look on him.

"…Idiot!" Komachi said softly.

"Huh?" Hachiman was confused.

"I am an idiot!" Komachi shouted. "Onii-chan, I failed a maths test!"

"…Oh." He only said.

"Yeah! 'Oh!'" She mocked. "Komachi is so stupid!"

"No you're not!" Hachiman defended his sister. "You're just bad at maths. Everyone in the family is, well, except for our mother."

"So, you mean to say it's not my fault." Komachi asked.

"…Oh, definitely not. It is your fault. You failed a test, Komachi." Hachiman replied resolutely.

"See! I am a failure." Komachi lost all hope.

"…Well, it's only one test." Hachiman reasoned.

"You never failed." Komachi stated.

"Of course not." Hachiman was proud. "I failed."

"Really? When, did this happen?" Komachi asked.

"…um, back at elementary school." Hachiman replied, awkwardly.

"…I am a failure!" Komachi wailed louder than before.

"Look! Everyone fails. But, it's not the end of the world. There's always the next test. You can pass on that one. Ask mom for help. She's good, you know. She helped me." Hachiman explained.

"Why can't I ask you for help?" Komachi asked, serious.

"Why do you want my help, Komachi? I am bad at maths." Hachiman explained.

"It's okay." Komachi replied. "I want you to teach me. Onii-chan is good enough for me."

"…Well then," Hachiman blushed at the faith his little sister had on him. "If you will have me as your tutor, then I guess, I will have you as my student."

"I would like that." Komachi blushed too.

-/-/-/-

A/N: Littlebrwk said Komachi. I give you Komachi.

Now, onto the next one…what will it be?

There are eleven girls:

Shizuka,

Miura,

Saki,

Haruno,

Yukino,

Yuigahama,

Isshiki,

Orimoto,

Ebina,

Sagami, and

Shiromeguri.

Please, pick one.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams.


	81. Chapter 81 Distraction

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 81: Distractions.

Characters: Miura, Hachiman

The script lay open on the floor, the tip of the pencil having grown dull from a couple of tweaks made to the plot and the narrative over the course of this entire training regimen, which from the very beginning was prepared while keeping his rotten personality in mind and then taking into account the lengths he was willing to go to get into shape for the role he was given to perform in their ambitious yet amateur short-film venture.

"Damn you, Zaimokuza!" Hachiman cursed his name out loud in pure rage and he made a solemn vow to make him pay for each and every bead of sweat forming on his forehead from this hellish workout routine which, inadvertently, he couldn't break because of a promise he made to his precious Totsuka, the only sweet and innocent person alive in the horrible world, where anyone and everyone could betray you, especially creepy guys suffering from 8th grader syndrome and nursing a fantasy to win worldwide fame by trying to convert a poorly written light novel into a badly produced short-film, which rather unexpectedly had to involve a number of people, including quite a few students from his own class and definitely all the members of his high school service club- that is to say, most boys and girls crazy enough to encourage the delusions of a guy suffering from a clinically unstable and a verifiable promiscuous mental disorder.

To say he was reluctant would be a gross understatement. Hachiman abhorred the idea from the very beginning, informing Zaimokuza rather promptly that he would not be taking part in this charade even though the likes of Yukinoshita and Yuigahama might have grudgingly accepted his proposal to turn this into a serious event by telling almost everyone they know and those who seemed mildly interested of the plans to undertake this filming venture. Almost everyone was roped in to this mess and rather foolishly they all listened to Zaimokuza, the writer/director of this amateur filming process. Ebina looked over the script and made lots of improvements and Zaimokuza immediately made her the assistant-director/co-writer of the film. It came as a small surprise, but it was nowhere near surprising enough to the announcements he made next.

He named Hayama Hayato as the villain, Miura Yumiko as the heroine and Hikigaya Hachiman as the hero. But of course, Zaimokuza could not get away with everything, so two changes were made rather quickly. The roles were switched. As expected, Hachiman now got to play the role of the villain and Hayama was promoted to the role of the hero. The universe was in order. Everything was in balance. But no! Not everything. Not yet.

Zaimokuza knew Hachiman would give him lots of trouble. He knew, he would try almost everything to get himself out of the role. So, Zaimokuza made up a passable excuse, saying Hachiman needed to get in shape for the role and to make him less aggravating, he asked Totsuka to be his personal gym trainer and get him into shape. Of course, as he expected, Hachiman did not argue. He worked in the gym, lifted weights, exercised religiously, followed each and every routine and did everything his angel and now his personal gym trainer, Totsuka Saika asked of him. Hachiman recognized his ploy, but he could care less. It was just a little exercise. It was good for your health. Thus, Hachiman toiled away in the gym to get into shape for the role, which was not needed at all. He just needed to show up, remember his cues, deliver his lines, and get the hell out. Even then he exercised and it was during one of these moments when he was lifting weights in the gym that he had the misfortune of coming face to face with the heroine of this amateur film.

"Hikio, how long have you been here?" Miura asked

"I have been here for a while now. Why do you ask?" Hachiman asked her back in return.

Miura shook her head. "No, it's nothing. I was just wondering what you were doing here, inside the gym, I mean. You have been here for a long time, you know. So, I got curious. There's nothing to worry about. I mean, I hope I'm not bothering you, Hikio."

Hachiman raised his eyebrows at her words. "You sound oddly out of it, Miura. Did something happen?"

Miura smiled. "It's nothing. I guess, I'm just excited, you know. I always wanted to be an actress and I know this isn't much and your friend is not really very good at it and he probably needs Hina on every step of the way, either to help him sort out the script or to assist him with the direction or something, but still, I am liking this, you know. So, I guess, I am happy and that is making me excited and I am fumbling up my words and being like Yui."

"Funny thing you should mention Yui," Hachiman teased. "You know Miura, at the beginning I actually encouraged her to take up the catering responsibilities for the crew, you know. I actually told her that it would really be a nice way to help us out and motivate us to quickly complete the filming process."

Miura looked aghast. "You didn't!"

Hachiman chuckled, drily. "In all honesty, I was trying to sabotage the film then."

"And you thought having everyone eat Yui's cooking was a good way to go about it." Miura nodded her head, clearly impressed with him and his schemes. "Well, I have to say, your friend, the director, sure picked the right guy to play the villain in his film. I mean it's really evil how you expect everyone to get food poisoning from eating Yui's cooking and the even worse thing about this is that none of them could even refuse her because Yui's too cute and no one is heartless enough to make her sad and unhappy over her cooking. They would be better off eating her food and dying from it."

"Like I said it was a good plan." Hachiman admitted. "But sadly, Zaimokuza saw through it and approached Yuigahama with a better offer. Who knew she had a thing for music."

"I did." Miura replied. "Actually, it was really me who asked your friend to ask Yui to take care of the sound and music of the film. I knew Yui liked listening to music and I also knew she would be quite happy to suggest the proper songs and tracks for the film to go with the scenes and the atmosphere. In the end, it was a win-win situation."

"Not really." Hachiman sighed. "I mean, I am still stuck here, rotting away in this gym. I mean have you seen Zaimokuza. He should be here instead of me. And I am not even sure whether or not all this working out is actually working, you know."

"Oh don't you worry about that. It's definitely working alright." Miura replied without thinking. Truth be told, she was a bit mesmerised by the sight. After all, Miura had never seen Hachiman in anything other than his school uniform. There was that trip to the Chiba Village, long back, but in those days she was busy mooning over Hayama and so she hadn't really paid much attention to him. But she was sure Hikio had not worn swimming trunks on the trip. She would have remembered the sight of him in swimming trunks if he had, bare chest and everything, water being splashed on him, his frown melting into a smile and looking fondly at her.

"Huh?" Hachiman, busy lamenting his woes did not hear her words and was now looking at Miura with a confused look on his face. Of course the look returning from Miura was a tad creepy, and that was saying a lot, since between the two of them he was the creepy one.

"Nothing!" Miura blushed, realising her slip up and tried to change the subject. "So, um, how is the working out, working out for you, Hikio."

Hachiman gave her a pointed look. "Really? A play of words."

"Shut up!" Miura blushed. "I was trying to be you, you know. So we can be more alike and get along. It would help the film seem more real and stuff."

"We don't have to get along Miura." Hachiman offered. "You are the heroine remember and I am the villain. By definition, we don't have to get along."

"But I want us too!" Miura stated, unashamed, "Isn't there a scene in the script there somewhere?"

"You mean the one where I kidnap you and keep you locked away in my dungeon to have my wicked ways with you." Hachiman asked, unabashedly.

"What the-!" Miura listened to his words and while blushing picked up the script lying on the floor. "That can't be right. That's super perverted. I am not doing it!"

"You should have read the script more carefully then." Hachiman replied. He had to move a little to give some space to Miura to take a seat beside him on the workout bench while she went through the script.

"I can't believe it! There it is. But wait!" Miura paused, peering closer and reading the lines carefully especially the lines which were freshly written on the side by a pencil. "What is this stuff, Hikio? The lines written in pencil. Did you write them?"

"Yeah, I did." Hachiman replied. "Apart from Ebina and Zaimokuza, I have been working on the script too. I don't mean to offend you, Miura, but your friend, Ebina is as equally perverted as mine, even though I don't consider Zaimokusa as a friend."

Miura nodded her head. "Point taken. Hina can be a little into the dungeon stuff."

"That can be easily misunderstood." Hachiman opined.

"Shut up!" Miura blushed, making a promise to bonk Hina on the head with this script. "You know what I mean. Anyway, the changes you made to the script, what do they mean for us, you know as Heroine and Villain. I mean is it less…perverted."

"Of course." Hachiman stated. "I have played more to the psychological aspect. You know, made it so that your character falls victim to the Stockholm syndrome."

"Is that better?" Miura asked.

"Well, it's still a lot clichéd, but it works for what it is and what, in the end, the film will be." Hachiman explained. "I mean, it's not great but basically you sympathise and fall in love with me by spending all that time together with me as my captive."

Miura blushed. "I do?"

Hachiman nodded his head. "There's also that time you nurse me back to health after I get shot by Hayama."

"That's horrible!" Miura shouts. "Why does he gets to shoot you? You should have shot him instead!"

"Tch, tell me about it. I have a problem with this too." Hachiman snorted. "It's says in the script that I have to be shirtless while you try to take the bullet out of me and I have to stay shirtless throughout the entire scene while you nurse me back to health. That's not happening. I mean, that's just plain stupid."

Miura blushed, already picturing the scene with him being shirtless, practically half naked for all intents and purposes. It worked for her and made her throat go a bit dry. "I think it's realistic you know."

"I don't think so." Hachiman sounded unsure.

"No, it is!" Miura argued. "And don't you think it will give you a chance to show off. I mean, you have been hitting the gym and working out…" her hands hovered over his shoulders awkwardly before clamping down upon him with all her might and it surprised the heck out of him. Miura was now running her hands over his back and shoulders. "I mean you have these new muscles and…oh is it getting hot in here."

Hachiman looked around, confused. "The fan is on."

"Well there is no air conditioning is there, Hikio." Miura asked in return.

Hachiman chuckled. "I think it defeats the purpose of a gym. You have to sweat, you know. Can't do that if you have an air condition running inside the gym where you are supposed to work the sweat, you know."

"I guess." Miura looked uninterested. She was busy marvelling at his wiry stretch of muscles. Her hands were now running around his waist and stomach and it was slowly making him rather uncomfortable. The tank top and gym shorts were a good look on him. Miura approved. But she was getting a little too handsy and excited and then…well, you know it was the moods fault and the script and that stupid Zaimokuza!

"…Um, Miura did you um, just grope me."

"…I thought those were abs."

"Abs are, you know, not really all that squeezable."

"Oh yeah, um, right."

"And they are not really all that far down, you know."

"Of course, I know that."

"So, um, Miura, could you kindly…"

"…Oh yeah, sure."

Of course neither of them would speak of this for a long time. And of course neither of them wanted to talk about the incident later on. Hence, it was never mentioned, not in a long time, that particular evening in the gym, during the filming of an amateur movie… when Miura Yumiko had her hands down the shorts of Hikigaya Hachiman.

…Accidentally, of course.

-/-/-/-/-

A/N: Two chapters in two days. Can you believe it!

EiNyx, TheDarkTheme, foreman371, BROnicorn, cortesmarco13, Jasserru, draco173, and Confused Ryuji, thank you all for picking Miura! I had loads of fun writing it.

Now, onto the next one. Komachi is done, Miura is done …now who will it be next?

There are eleven girls:

Rumi,

Yuigahama,

Haruno,

Yukino,

Orimoto,

Isshiki,

Saki,

Sagami,

Shiromeguri,

Shizuka, and

Ebina.

Please, pick one

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams.


	82. Chapter 82 Love Hotel

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 82: Love Hotel

Characters: Sagami, Hachiman

The old man in the receptionist desk was a pervert. He could see it in the wink of his eyes, the look he gave the two of them and from the euphemism in his poised question of whether or not they would like to pay by the hour for the duration of their stay in this run down hotel, where people, especially couples came with only one purpose in mind, which was definitely not to take shelter from the storm that was raging in the outside world.

Of course, he would have expected her to take the hint, but like always it seemed like the girl known as Sagami Minami simply existed to torment him and thus, rather foolishly, she had simply said that they would be paying by the hour and also, they would be staying in the same room.

Thunder, lightning and rain followed the discovery of the bed, which was doing its best to pretend and be innocent of the deeds performed on its white sheets and grey covers, trying to forget the loud voices muffled in the soft pillows and almost turning a blind eye to the couple of small square packages kept in the nondescript nightstand lingering on the side of the bed. Upon entering the room, his eyes had gone straight to those, but it seemed Sagami was oblivious to their existence. But it would happen soon, she would spot them and then all chaos would be let loose. He waited patiently with baited breath for the discovery to happen.

…He waited a bit more.

But nothing happened. Well, it seemed like he did not have to worry about this for the time being. Of course those small square packages had nothing to offer to either of them. Firstly, they were the farthest thing from a couple and furthermore, Sagami hated his guts. So there was-

"Are those condoms!?" Sagami shouted, pointing her fingers accusatorily at them for emphasis.

…He should have known better. In fact, from the high pitch of her voice he was beginning to understand that the girl was a minute away from dialling the phone and calling the cops on him, even though he was not in fault for any of the stuff that was happening to either of them: he had not asked her to be put in the interschool event committee, he had not asked her to follow him when school was over, and believe it or not he had not sent a single prayer so that they would get caught in the storm, get completely drenched in the rain and then seeks shelter in this god-awful hotel, where couples in every room were busy making the most of it with those same small square packages that would ultimately be his own downfall.

He went with the honest truth to save his skin for the moment.

"...Yes." Hachiman decided to keep his words short and curt to make her relax and get most of the tension and anxiety out of her system.

"What do you mean? What are they doing here!?" She asked like the condoms were actual living-breathing beings and for a moment he felt like losing his cool. But he kept a level head and talked to her steadily.

"I don't know Sagami. You should ask the old man down in reception." He said, moving to the side to give her access to the door of their room.

"I'm not going to talk to him." Sagami protested, crossing her arms in a defensive posture over her breasts. "He's a pervert! He was looking at my breasts the entire time. Why do you think I stood behind you and let you talk to him instead of me? God! For a smart guy you are kind of an idiot."

Yes, indeed. The old man was definitely a pervert. Sagami was aware of that at least, but that still didn't help the problem they found themselves in, which to him was not even a problem. "…Well, what do want me to do?" He asked, wondering whether there was something that could be done to calm her down.

"I don't know!" Sagami shouted, glaring daggers at his face which made him wince, subconsciously. "You are the supposed genius. You figure it out!"

Hachiman rubbed the back of his neck, perplexed. "I never said I was a genius, but for the time being, I would like to solve the problem…whatever that might be."

"There is no problem." Sagami said, trying to downplay her actions, mostly the screaming and shouting parts. Perhaps now she might have realised her mistake and decided to tone it down a notch.

But he couldn't be too sure. "Your screaming at me is definitely a problem, Sagami." Hachiman replied, knowing it was the wrong thing to say. The way things were headed he would be thrown out of the hotel and into the rain, but he couldn't keep quiet.

It was a bother. The girl was irritating enough on her own. You add her own embarrassment to the mix and now she had ascended into another level of doom. "Deal with it. You deal with Miura, shouting at you all the time, so what's wrong in dealing with me."

Hachiman sighed. "I understand, Miura."

Sagami snorted. "Sorry, but I don't see blonde hair, a charming smile and a six pack abs. Let me guess, your name is not, Hayama Hayato, is it?"

Hachiman bristled at her tone. The insults of Yukinoshita did not really bother him, but the taunts of Sagami got under his skin. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that she meant every word she said to him. He might have appreciated the truth if he could forget the acidity in her tone. It made him lose his cool. Only a bit though.

Hachiman sighed, tired of the conversation. "Okay, fine. Hayama understands her too." He gave him credit where it was due. "But that was not the point I was making. What I meant to say is that, I understand Miura. I know where she is coming from and so I can excuse her and her habit of yelling and screaming when she gets even a little annoyed." He hesitated a little, trying to figure out the words. "What I mean to say is that I know Miura, so I can tolerate her. I can talk to her, I can make a point to her, I can even help her help herself and I would even go so far as to say that I can accept her for who she is and what she wants to be." He looked her in the eye. "But I can't help you, Sagami."

Sagami looked away. Talking about Miura got to her every time and it was a dirty move to make, but he saw no other way to make the point. However, she didn't see it that way, as he expected. "I don't need help from a freak like you!" she said and the wet droplets falling down her cheeks couldn't be mistaken for rain drops. "I am fine on my own."

"You are not fine." Hachiman stated, firmly.

"Shut up!" Sagami shouted, "This is all your fault. You make Miura out to be a saint, but she isn't one. You know, in our first year, I was the leader of the most popular clique. I had many friends, friends who were real and didn't abandon me." Her voice continued to rise. "But that all changed when Miura turned up in our second year. She took over and I was left with no one." The sadness of loss, of being without friends for the first time was poignant, but he couldn't understand it very well. He never had friends to begin with, but the same was not true for her. "Even Yui went with her. She was my friend first. She wasn't supposed to leave me. But she did and I blamed Miura for all of this. It was all her fault. She took everything from me, all because she wanted to get fucked by Hayama Hayato!"

Hachiman listened to Sagami but…"You make no sense."

In hindsight, that was definitely the wrong thing to say. "…Are you mocking me?" Of course, Sagami would think he was mocking her now wouldn't she, because the words, make and no and sense, specifically in that order with the addition of a subject, obviously, was the copyrighted catchphrase of Miura Yumiko and needless to say, Sagami Minami hated her guts.

"No I am not mocking you, Sagami." Hachiman replied quickly. "I just don't understand your way of thinking." He decided to break it down even further. "I mean, I don't get how Miura, forming the most popular clique in our class has to do with her…romantic intentions towards Hayama."

"Can't say the words 'Miura wanna fuck Hayato.' can you? Leaves a bad taste in your mouth doesn't it." Sagami sneered at him. "Tell me, you don't like Miura or anything do you?"

Hachiman blushed. "I don't."

"Hah! You're blushing. That's so cute!" Sagami barked then cooed evilly. "That's so pathetic." She gave him a long once over before meeting his eyes. "I mean, I get why you like her. I can think of two, nice, big, squeezable reasons for you liking her, just like any hormonal boy, but what I don't get is why does she like you." She shrugged, apparently giving up. "Who knows, maybe she has some weird fetish, we don't know about. I mean you should have seen her. She was positively undressing you with her eyes and I got sick just by looking at her." Her eyes raked his body once more. "Nah, I don't see it. Given the choice, a girl would have to be dumb, blind, deaf and dead to pick your sorry self over Hayama. I mean have you seen him." Sagami faked a dreamy look. "I bet he knows his way around the bedroom too."

Hachiman lost his temper and snapped. "Well at least I have the common decency not to stare at you in your current state."

"Wait, what do you mea-" And it was then that Sagami looked down at herself and saw that getting drenched in the rain led to her clothes sticking to her body rather uncomfortably and by now the fabric of her uniform was almost transparent and also the person standing before him didn't even need to guess the colour of her bra and finally, it was her time to blush in embarrassment.

While talking and insulting him, Sagami had completely forgotten the fact that she had been drenched in the rain…but then, this guy, this freak, he hadn't looked at her, by which she meant that he hadn't stared at her breasts and her body, which was clearly visible for his eyes to feast upon and gawk.

But he didn't.

…It was oddly endearing.

"Well, I'm going to give you that one." Sagami said, in the nicest of ways possible, especially to the likes of him. "I don't think even Hayama could have handled himself after seeing me wet."

"…You said that on purpose." Hachiman accused.

"Maybe I did." Sagami added humorously. "But how would you know?" Her eyes took a saucy look and it was downright hot and seductive, the way she sat on the bed and crossed her legs and he really shouldn't be thinking these kinds of stuff. He needed a clear mind. They were getting caught up in the mood, that's all. He needed the truth to rain on him. Again.

So, Hachiman nodded his head. "You're right. I wouldn't know. " He took a couple of measured steps, knowing her eyes were on him and then rather abruptly, she stood up from the bed to meet him and so, she didn't even bother moving away from him to make space, and despite his good manoeuvring, their bodies accidentally brushed against each other.

Outside thunder followed lightning and the storm raged, and without looking back to see the look on her face, but getting slightly aroused by the heavy, smutty promise in her wicked laugh, he developed a warm sweat. But by then he was in position. "Let's not take a chance, shall we?"

The nightstand was within reach, and he picked up the condoms and in quick succession before even Sagami could realise what was happening, Hachiman went to the bathroom and flushed the condoms down the toilet.

This time when he turned around to face her there was a weary look on her face. It was defensive and frightened and he guessed his actions warranted that look along with a lot of confusion. "I guess you were wondering why I flushed the condoms." He asked.

"… We are not doing 'it' without it." Sagami replied, sternly.

Hachiman nodded to her. "Rightly so."

An uncomfortable silence elapsed between them and it was finally her loud, boisterous laugh which broke the silence and relaxed the heavy sexual tension in the room. He gave her a look for her over exaggerated effort, but stayed silent for the most part. "Ha-ha! Wow! That is probably the most brutal way to reject a girl's advances. Congratulations! Your sorry virgin ass won't be getting laid tonight."

Hachiman made a face. "Eloquently put, Sagami."

"You know the old pervert already passed judgement on you." Sagami continued mocking him. "You should have seen his face. He gave you such a sympathetic look when I went ahead and said that we would need this room for only fifteen minutes. He probably pitied you so much, that's why he refused to give us the room for anything less than half an hour. I bet in his mind, he is thinking he did a good deed today, got a freak of nature to fuck a beautiful girl like me, but even then, he couldn't imagine you, 'get some' for any over thirty minutes. Now that's just sad and pathetic."

"Yes. I am sad and pathetic. We all know that. No need to repeat yourself, Sagami." Hachiman spoke in a curt manner, trying to get the point across that he was not finding these insults remotely funny. He tried to distract himself by looking at something else, focusing on something else and it was then when he realised that the two of them were completely drenched and if they waited any longer they would fall terribly sick.

"Sagami! Quick!" Hachiman shouted. "Take off your clothes!"

…In hindsight, he could have phrased it better. In other words, he completely deserved the powerful whack on the back of his head which he received from Sagami, courtesy of that hefty schoolbag she carried, which judging by the sheer weight of it, must contain a lot of bricks.

Sometime later, Hachiman was woken up by a knock on the door and it was the same perverted old man from the reception and while laughing at him and pointing at his forehead, he told Hachiman that the cute girl had left some time ago, and it must have been her who had written the words 'Freak' on his forehead with a black marker.

Thankfully, the ink cleared from his forehead with a simple wash and it was there, in the bathroom that he found her number, written with the same marker on his handkerchief, which he kept inside the pocket of his trousers.

…So, while he was unconscious, Sagami went through his pants.

"Wonderful." Hachiman mumbled sarcastically to himself, blushing at the thought of the entire ordeal.

-/-/-/-/-

A/N: Ooo...this chapter got bigger! (2750+ Words!)

Mimi, LemonBro, AnonBaws, Ichigo Oga, 26Frenchguy, draco173, AnimeLoverQ8, Confused Ryuji, thank you, you guys! Writing Sagami was a bit of a challenge, so it took a little longer to write, but I hope everyone likes it.

Now onto the next one: Komachi is done, Miura is done, Sagami is done…now who will it be next?

Now there are ten girls:

Shiromeguri,

Shizuka,

Ebina,

Rumi,

Yuigahama,

Haruno,

Yukino,

Orimoto,

Isshiki, and

Saki.

Please, pick one.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams.


	83. Chapter 83 Possibilities

Chapter 83: Possibilities

The computer screen looked back at them in silent judgement and on his part he was faring rather poorly, almost feeling guilty for raking up a high electricity bill by keeping the electronic device open and running, while neither of them made any kind of progress on the matter. Perhaps it was time to throw in the towel and give up and turn to the bespectacled fujoshi sitting next to him and murmur the words which were steadily becoming difficult to voice out loud.

"It looks like I can't complete your request." Hachiman replied and for the first time he felt a little bad about his failure. Perhaps he had indeed grown a little more attached to the service club and maybe there was a little bit of ego involved. "Sorry to disappoint you, Ebina-san."

"Ne, Hikitani-kun, don't just add 'san' to my name out of nowhere! It feels super weird and strange." Ebina replied back, pointing a finger at him for emphasis. "Besides, we have grown familiar over time haven't we?" She wiggled her eyebrows and it would be a lie to say he did not find that even a little funny. "Also, you did confess to me, you know." Her voice was devoid of any teasing.

"It was a fake confession." Hachiman replied, stoic and curt. He did not want to think about it. The school trip to Kyoto had left many a psychological wounds on him. In comparison, it was right up there with the rejection of one Orimoto. He never spared a thought as to why.

"You were my first." Ebina admitted slowly.

"…Please, don't speak like that." Hachiman pleaded. "People might misunderstand."

"But you were." Ebina said. "You were the first guy who confessed to me." A small smile broke on her face and it was getting difficult not to look away from her. "It made me feel happy."

"You could have waited for Tobe, then." Hachiman replied, smoothly. "He would have confessed to you. It would have been genuine."

"Yes, it would have been genuine." Ebina admitted. "But only on his end."

"You were friend." Hachiman bit his tongue and amended. "You guys are still friends."

"Yes, he is a dear friend." Ebina replied, a fond smile forming on her lips. "But he is only a friend, nothing more, nothing less."

"So is that the real request?" Hachiman raised an eyebrow. "You feel like you are now ready for a relationship with Tobe."

Ebina shook her head. "That is not the request. And I don't feel like I will ever be ready for a relationship with Tobe."

Hachiman narrowed his eyes a bit. "Then you should tell him. It's not really nice to string him along, dangle hope in front of him and make him think like he has a chance with you, when he clearly does not."

"You are oddly protective of him." Ebina laughed, self-depreciatingly. "Tell me, have you two become friends over time. Should I start shipping Tobe x Hikki now?"

"You already do that." Hachiman snapped. "And since when did you start calling me, Hikki?"

"Yui does it." Ebina said, quickly.

"Yeah, Yuigahama does." Hachiman pointed out. "You do not."

"Oh?" Ebina raised an eyebrow in interest. "Is there something happening between you two that I should know about?"

Hachiman looked her in the eye before replying. "No."

"Somehow, I don't believe that." Ebina said in return. "I mean you guys are club mates."

"And you and Tobe are friends." Hachiman supplied. "So, again what is your point?"

Ebina crossed her legs and hunched forward. "I saw you and Sagami enter a hotel yesterday."

"It was raining." Hachiman replied quickly. "We took shelter."

"It's highly unlikely that you too did something in there, but then again you too going into a hotel together is already too strange, so I don't know what to think of that." Ebina replied. "But before that I saw you and Yumiko together in the gym of all places."

"…It was for the role in the movie, you know." Hachiman replied. "I mean, of course you know! You wrote that together with Zaimokuza."

"I did no such thing." Ebina said. "I only looked it over and made some changes." She gave him a quick once over. "I see you didn't hit the gym all that much. You don't seem to have developed much muscle."

"You and I both know it was an excuse to get me out of Zaimokuza's sight, so I couldn't sabotage his films." Hachiman argued.

"Hey! You don't get to argue." Ebina replied. "You got time to spend with Saika-chan. I was stuck editing a horrible script. By the way did you cross out the dungeon part?"

"Yes, I did." Hachiman replied. "It's not gonna happen."

Ebina giggled. "I bet Yumiko would have loved to see you without a shirt."

Hachiman blushed. "She can see Hayama instead."

"Ew! Gross!" Ebina exclaimed. "Don't make me picture it. I already have a sick head."

Hachiman snorted. "You are unbelievable, you know that."

"I will take that as a compliment." Ebina said cheerfully.

Hachiman shook his head. "Look, I am not trying to mess with your friends." He didn't voice it out loud that they were the ones trying to mess me up. He doubted whether, Ebina would really believe him. I mean, she was there friend after all, he thought.

"I know that." Ebina said. "But you have to be more careful in the future."

Hachiman looked at her confused. "I don't know what you mean by that."

"Well let me give you an example." Ebina began. "You followed me here because I simply asked you to come and now we are all alone here, no one else, except for me and you- One Ebina Hina and one Hikigaya Hachiman. So, does this set off any alarm bells in your head?"

Hachiman gave her a look. "Should it?"

"I don't know. You tell me" Ebina looked away. "Look, I know I am not making any sense, but bear with me here, okay. Well, um, I don't mean to pry, but can you tell me one thing about yourself." She took a big breath and before he could protest, she blurted out. "Have you confessed to anyone before?"

Hachiman fell silent for a long period. Then he levelled her with a glare. "Why do you want to know?"

"You don't have to say it." Ebina replied quickly. "Your reaction gave it all away."

"What can I say?" Hachiman sighed deeply. "Some hurts still hurt."

"That sounded cool." Ebina said cheerfully.

"Now I know that was fake." Hachiman replied.

The duo shared a laugh before Ebina started speaking again. "Tell me Hikitani-kun, does this remind you of something. This setting, this feel, this awkward tension, this loneliness: Nothing but you and me here," She paused to let it sink. "Nothing but a boy and a girl." Her smile was now a mystery. "Tell me, what do you think might happen?"

Hachiman gulped. His voice had gone dry. "Nothing stupid, I hope."

Ebina smacked his hand playfully. "Only you can call this stupid."

He rubbed the spot where her hand had touched not a moment ago, lost in thought. "It can also be called a risk."

Ebina placed her hands on top of her lap. "It's a risk I'm willing to take."

Hachiman bristled. "... I'm not a good guy, Ebina. I'm not sure of myself. I don't know if I can be what you want me to be."

Ebina placed her hand on top of his. "I won't ask." Her thumb stroked his knuckles absent-mindedly. "This is not a confession, Hikitani-kun."

Hachiman turned her hand over in his and held on to it, his eyes boring into her. "Is this the request then?" He asked tenderly.

Ebina shook her head. "No. It's not."

"Then? " Hachiman implored her to continue.

"It's something else. " Ebina replied instead. "I don't want to name it."

Hachiman nodded his head. "Okay. I understand."

Ebina bowed her head a little. "Then I will be in your care, Hikigaya - kun."

Hachiman bowed his head too. "As I in yours, Ebina-san."

There was an awkward pause settling between them and out of no reason he decided to break it.

"... So, just to be clear, you are asking me to be your friend, right?" Hikigaya asked like an idiot.

"... Unbelievable. " Ebina said, shaking her head.

Thus, the obtuse, vague attempt of Ebina Hina to confess to Hikigaya Hachiman, without actually voicing the words in fear of rejection was met with failure. She should have known better than to pull an idea from a crappy shoujo manga. From now on, all her romantic ploys to confess to him would be lifted from BL manga, like she originally thought to do in the first place.

But this was nice too. Being his friend was the first step. At least now she could talk to him without coming up with weird requests.

'Yay me! ' Ebina cheered herself up, loudly in her own mind... It was kinda depressing really. But no worries. She will get close to him.

Soon.

-/-/-/-

A/N: Well, after Miura and Sagami touching 8man inappropriately, I wanted Ebina to keep her hands to herself. So, that's why it's a less sexy chapter. Now onto the next one.

Here are the options:

Option One: Haruno's Red Dress.

Option Two: Yukino's Red Dress.

Please, pick one.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams.


	84. Chapter 84 Red

Don't own Oregairu.

Chapter 84: Red

"Red's a good look on me, don't you think?"

"Shut up, Haruno."

"…You're mean."

Hachiman bit back the impulse to retort and decided to settle the both of them into a long, drawn out period of a grim, foreboding silence. He never deluded others to think of him as a funny guy and on more than one occasion he failed to get the funny side of an unfortunate incident, but clearly he was not seeing the humour in the situation which involved, the woman, Haruno Yukinoshita, making a joke about the blood flowing from her veins, seeping through the cut on her stomach, and soaking the fabric of her innocent, white dress and turning it into a dark, sinister shade of blood-red, life threatening, worry inducing crimson.

"If I knew it would take only a small jump to make you call me by my name then I would have jumped from that building several months ago, Hachiman."

"Stop talking, Haruno."

"…That's no way to talk to a dying person, you know."

"You are not dying, Haruno."

The back of the ambulance was ill-suited for her usual teasing pulls and sways in their continuous back and forth conversation, held over the course of them meeting and getting to know each other over a diminutive period of time, as a result of his earlier reluctance to associate with her in every next possible moment, when he became capable enough to see through her mask and she was foolish enough to let it slip in the first place, to gauge his reaction over a misplaced passing fancy which only a complete idiot would term 'love at first sight.'

Theirs was not love. Women in love did not show their inner demoness to the potential love interest: a self professed loner, a boy in comparison, and clearly undeserving of her affection; his words, not hers.

But here he was, Hikigaya Hachiman, unloved, unloving, unlovable, having his dead fish eyes trained on her, Yukinoshita Haruno, the older daughter, the elder sister, the adult woman, the ideal one to many, the evil one to a select few, and the one to only one: him.

The loss of blood was making her grow tired and weak, her vision was swimming and there was a moment, not to long ago when the fear of dying, death, dead, had ceased her and she was rendered into a state of shock, her vitals going haywire and the medical personnel rushing to her aid, checking her, poking her, invading her privacy, doing everything to keep her alive and it was the look of dread on his face, visible from the back of the ambulance, while her body was being put on the gurney by strangers, while panic and chaos flowed supreme throughout the buzzing voice of the gathered crowd, bearing witness to her fall, it was the sight of his, his school uniform, the same white shirt, covered in blood, her blood, which made her want to cry out for him.

Out of everyone watching, he had been the one to act. He had been the one to catch her, cushion her fall, break his arm in the process, her weight magnified by gravity, the stage giving out- it was a small building, one floor, it was not fatal, but blood, blood, blood, it ruined her dress, it ruined her face, her body. It ruined her being, the woman, the girl, the child, the ideal, the perfection; no more was she beautiful. The wounds, the scars, the lacerations, the broken bones, the damage, it would last forever. She was panicking, going into shock, hyperventilating!

"Haruno, breathe. You will be fine."

"Will I?"

"Yes."

"And if I am not."

"…Then I will be there for you. Always."

"It's rude to lie to a dying person, you know."

"You are not dying, Haruno."

Hachiman stared deep into her eyes and it was difficult to look at her when she was weak and vulnerable, open and wounded and blood discolouring the fabric of her cloth, the beautiful dress of hers ruined forever, and it was really not the time to think about the dress, but it was better than thinking about the accident: watching her decided the less fatal outcome, the spilt second decision taken in a sheer moment of panic, to jump from the one storey building or to get buried under the sharp, heavy debris of the collapsing stage.

"You saved my life, Hachiman."

"You still managed to get hurt."

"I am still alive though."

"Thank you for being alive, Haruno."

"…You know a kiss would make me feel better."

"No, a doctor would make you feel better."

"…It's rude to deny a dying woman her last wish, you know."

He kissed her then. It was a chaste brush of lips, soft and slow and lingering and over so soon it left her wanting more, but he was already withdrawing and moving back to his original position beside her.

"You are not dying, Haruno."

-/-/-/-

A/N: Okay, this is definitely not the one you guys wanted, right? I mean its red dress, but well it's because, Haruno is bleeding out and yeah…that's really not what I was going for. But in order to do "The Red Dress" chapter justice, I needed to up the rating. So that's why I am asking everyone to take an important decision.

Decision One: Change the Rating to "M"

Decision Two: Stick with the Current Rating.

Please, choose wisely.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams.


	85. Chapter 85 The Red Dress

Don't own Oregairu

Chapter 85: The Red Dress

The dilation of pupils, the sharp intake of breath, the crushing grip on the bouquet of flowers, the inability to speak- to form words, to string together a sentence- the utter incapability to make a sound- a noise, a grunt, a mumble- heartbeat skipping a beat, forgetting to breath, light in the head, feeling like floating, slack jawed, wide eyed- looking, staring, gawking - taking in the appearance of divinity, the physical embodiment of perfection, the personification of the ultimate temptation, clothed in elegance, coloured in sin-crimson, scarlet, vermilion; No! It was the exact shade of red bled by virgins on their nuptial bed.

Dead fish eyes saw everything and it was exhilarating for a rotten mind to imagine the unthinkable, the unfathomable, the impossible: the time consuming nature of each and every brush and blemish which brought out the colour in her eyes, the shine in her hair, the rouge on her cheeks, the pout on her lips.

"Not your favourite colour, I take it." Haruno offered in lieu of greeting.

"…No, I mean, yes. No, I mean No!" Hachiman cursed his brain for making him sound like a complete idiot. He needed to get it together and formulate coherent sentences like a normal person. Otherwise, he would be labelled insane, "Red looks good on you, Haruno."

A good part of the entire week was spent on finding the perfect dress for the occasion. Numerous people were consulted, including her little sister and former homeroom teacher and on a couple of occasions a few sales attendants came incredibly close to losing his/her job upon giving a poorly thought out advice, but ultimately the elusive dress was discovered and presented to her for her kind perusal: Strapless and low-cut, daring and bold, the red coloured dress fit her rather nicely, managing to flatter and accentuate her young, curvaceous figure and through the lengthy, teasing slit to the side, her long, glorious stocking clad leg was brought to his attention, ruthlessly followed by her feet in those killer heels which put him on edge and threatened an entirely new prospect for the night in question.

"You have a dangerous look in your eyes, Hachiman." Haruno whispered, moving closer to him, letting him bask in her sweet, intoxicating scent, while wrapping both her arms around his neck, lips brushing the tips of his earlobes, hot air blown purposefully to make him react unexpectedly and take a new course. "You look like you want to devour me." He was aware of her breasts, the fabric both their clothes managing poorly to mask their shape, their weight, their heft, and he almost felt his finger twitch, almost convulse, both his palms trying to reach up and touch them, cup them, fondle them, almost anything except for driving him insane by having her rub them, press them to his chest in the innocent disguise of a well meaning embrace.

"If you keep doing that, you will miss out on the dance, Haruno." Hachiman was becoming a professional when it came to handling her and it took every ounce of control to reach up and grasp one of her hands and while handing out the forgotten bouquet, gently reprimand her by the action of pushing her away a bit, but not too much, his other arm already finding her elbow, tugging it and hanging onto her for each passing moment. "I went out and rented a suit for this, you know. It will all go to waste."

Haruno took the flowers from him and gave him a nice, long, lingering once over, not even bothering to hide the fact that she was beginning to undress him with her eyes, starting with the dark, charcoal black suit of his, then remove that nicely pressed white shirt, unbuckle that leather belt, take off the trousers, the shoes, the socks, everything! Every article of clothing on his body would simply disappear before the night was over; except for one.

"Hmm." Haruno levelled her heated stare on his upper torso while bringing the bouquet of flowers to her nose and taking a long, comforting sniff, trying in vain to figure out the problem that was not really a problem, while not making him overtly self-conscious of the situation.

"What are you thinking, Haruno?" Hachiman asked, rubbing the back of his neck, clearly getting a little nervous from the thoughtful expression on her beautiful face.

"I am trying to think of a way to leave that tie on your neck while I take your clothes off and proceed to have sex." Haruno replies, casually, using the same tone one would use to discuss the weather to inevitably prolong a dull conversation.

"Like the tie, don't you?" Hachiman asked, voice teasing, holding up the said article of clothing in between his fingers for emphasis.

"Oh, you know it." Haruno replied, her voice thick and heavy in need, desire and lust, those lips of hers never looked more inviting, eyes searching and engaging his own, and those hands of hers grown bold enough to feel his heart ram inside his chest, hammers on anvils, loud and clear and betraying his real emotions. "It matches my dress."

Hachiman blushed. "And there I was thinking a red tie would be a little too much."

"My dear darling," Haruno took advantage of those killer heels, moving close, getting in his space. "Let me tell you one thing." Her arms reaching out, her hands finding the strength, fingers following the dare to bring him down by the lapels of his suit and the noose called a tie, wrinkling his shirt in the process and then melting her lips to his, tasting him freshly, firstly for tonight, moulding their bodies together, passion running rampant, blood boiling, grunts, gasps, moans, every other throaty sound imaginable ringing in the air and only breaking the kiss when the need to breath became overwhelming enough for the both of them, next to the need to finish her sentence to contribute to the thick levels of sexual tension in the air. "There's no such thing as too much."

-/-/-/-

A/N: Okay, you guy! Almost everyone voted for a change in rating. So, this is the official and only announcement/warning you will get: **Vignettes, Snippets, Drabbles, etc. will be rated "M".** So, from the next chapter onwards if you want to search/check whether the story has been updated or not you have to change the rating to **"M"**

Now, with that being said, let's move on to the more important discussion: **The Red Dress Lemon.** It will happen in the next chapter. Guaranteed!

So here are the options for the next chapter.

Option One: Haruno and Hikigaya skip the dance and take things to the bedroom.

Option Two: Haruno and Hikigaya dance.

Please pick one.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams.


	86. Chapter 86 Finale?

Don't own Oregairu

Chapter 86: Without Coffee or Breakfast.

"Okay, Hikigaya-kun," Yukino said. "Let us begin."

She faced him head on and proffered her left hand to him in silent invitation and like the proper idiot he was, Hikigaya-kun stared at her hand for a full minute, looked at her face in puzzlement, looked back at her hand in confusion and then proceeded to make an absolute donkey of himself by mimicking her actions without any thought, copying them to the tee, the most foolish of them being, him, trying to place his left hand in hers as well. However, before contact could be made and she in turn could also be made a party to his pitiful foolishness, Yukinoshita swiped his hand away from hers with a flick of the wrist and placed the entire ire of her ocean blue eyes on his dead fish ones, making him flinch and grouse in an overly dramatic manner, which was rather unbecoming even for the likes of him.

"Ow! What the hell?" Hachiman cursed, loudly.

"Manners, Hikigaya-kun." Yukino chided, coldly. "We are partaking in a display which requires a minimum of decorum and etiquette towards the craft as well as to your gracious partner. The least you can do is be respectful and keep your uncouth tongue under leash, lest it get swollen and fall off from your mouth and get stamped on under the sharp heels of many a woman you have wilfully left scorned in your wake."

"Tch, now I know what Yuigahama feels." Hachiman groused, derisively.

"This will not do, Hikigaya-kun." Yukino complained, irritated. "You have to take a more serious approach to my less than fortunate predicament. I did not suffer through the indignity of our morning telephonic conversation to have you make a mockery of the established convention when I made an overzealous attempt to beseech your rotten and deplorable self with the most mundane of services imaginable for a simpleton."

"You have been hanging out with Zaimokuza again haven't you?" Hachiman asked, annoyed. "It's a little early in the morning for me to get the whole Zaimokuza-speak down, you know. I don't think I can even manage Tobe-talk at the moment as well. So, you got to speak more, I don't know what's the word I am looking for, oh that's right! Speak normally!"

"…I take it you are not a morning person, is that it." Yukinoshita offered, summarily.

"What gave that away! Oh I know, is it the tone of my voice, isn't it?" Hikigaya mocked, acidly.

"Actually it's the smell of your breath." Yukinoshita complained, derisively. "I take it the act of brushing your teeth escapes you, doesn't it, Hikigaya-kun."

Hachiman grit his teeth, biting back the sharp remark on the tip of his tongue. Instead he shook his head and made a move to walk towards the exit. "Look, this is not working. From what I understand, this requires two people to have some kind of chemistry and from what I have seen so far, we don't have any of it. So, if that's all the same to you, I would like to leave. Thanks for ruining the first day of my vacation, Yukinoshita. Really, you are far too kind."

"You can't leave." Yukinoshita protested, loudly. "I forbid it!"

"Try and stop me." Hachiman challenged, louder. "I can't believe I agreed to do this in the first place and with you of all people! But I have to tell you it was a good strategy. You called me in the morning, took advantage of my drowsy state and got me to make a ridiculous promise."

"So is that it?" Yukinoshita asked, mockingly. "Are you going back on your word, Hikigaya-kun?"

"Yes." Hachiman nodded his head. "Now if you will excuse me, there's a bed waiting to be slept on back at my home. Enjoy your vacation, Yukinoshita and please, let me enjoy mine as well. In short, please don't call me, don't call Komachi, and don't kill me for being rude to you. I know this might seem shocking to you, but this is me in the morning with no breakfast and no coffee. You have no idea how miserable I feel right now. Please let me leave in peace. I beg you!"

"…fast." An almost inaudible whisper reached his ears.

He stopped heading towards the exit to give her a contemplative look over his shoulders. "Sorry, could you speak a bit louder, Yukinoshita." Hachiman asked, warily. "I didn't quite catch that."

"I said I will treat you to a hearty breakfast, Hikigaya-kun." Yukinoshita repeated, indignantly. "I believe free food would be a nice way to compensate you for your troubles. Although, I think a gentleman might find the mere task of coming to the service of a young lady its own reward, but like you said, exceptions have to be made."

"I never said that!" Hikigaya snapped, irritated. "Also, I don't think I can quite manage the people and the noise of a café or a restaurant this early in the morning. I think I prefer to have the most important meal of the day in relative silence."

"If you keep talking like that Hikigaya-kun then you will be having your breakfast in jail." Yukinoshita stated firmly. "Furthermore, I never said I will take you to a public establishment. If it's all the same to you, I would rather not be seen with you in public."

"Ouch! You know its words like that that turn people into serial killers." Hikigaya said, sarcastically.

"Then I would have to kindly rescind my offer to invite you over for breakfast, Hikigaya-kun." Yukinoshita stated, coolly. "It would be a pity for I am told that I make a rather delicious, Eggs Benedict."

"Wait a minute," Hachiman raised an eyebrow. "You are saying you will cook for me?"

Yukinoshita crossed her arms and looked at him rather haughtily. "As a simple compensation for your service, nothing more, nothing less, I assure you."

"Well, that's fair, I guess." Hachiman reasoned.

"Have you forgotten about my talents in the kitchen, Hikigaya-kun? It's more than fair! Just be grateful that I thought you worthy enough to help me in my endeavour." Yukinoshita said, pride seeping into her voice.

"Yeah, yeah. I get it. You are great. And I am a loser." Hikigaya scoffed. "What else?"

Like before, once again, Yukinoshita Yukino came face to face with Hikigaya Hachiman and extended her left hand to him, but unlike last time, this time around, she chose not to remain silent and voiced the simplest of instructions to the Neanderthal, "Place your right hand in my hand, Hikigaya-kun. Right hand! Not your left hand, okay?"

"Okay, okay. Sheesh! " Hachiman exclaimed. "Didn't I do the same thing before when you swiped away my hand?"

"No most definitely not." Yukinoshita argued. "You placed your left hand in my left hand! I don't know why you would do such a foolish thing. You are not exactly unintelligent."

"I thought we were shaking hands." Hachiman mumbled, embarrassedly.

"Oh? Do you often shake hands using your left hand, Hikigaya-kun?" Yukinoshita teased, softly.

"Give me a break!" Hachiman exclaimed. "I haven't had coffee yet."

"…Is that your creepy way of asking me out for coffee." Yukinoshita asked derisively. "Frankly, I am not flattered. You should have been more proficient and proactive and less obtuse. " She waited for a minute. "Do you want to try that again, Hikigaya-kun?"

"Try what?" Hikigaya asked, feeling worn out.

"Try asking me out for coffee." Yukinoshita replied. "Clearly that was your intention, was it not?"

"No it wasn't!" Hachiman nearly shouted. "God! How do I even handle you on a daily basis? No, wait I already know the answer to that. I drink coffee. Particularly I drink Maxx Coffee. God! I could kill for a can or two of those right now." He looked at her in question. "You don't have one on you, right?"

"Of course not!" Yukinoshita exclaimed, bewildered.

"Oh right! Where would you even hide it? I mean it's not like you can hide it in your body, right?" He gave her a pondering once over. "Nope, wrong shape."

"I will have you know-" Yukino started haughtily.

"I wasn't talking about your breasts!" Hachiman didn't give her a chance to complete her sentence. "Damn! I need coffee. Tell me again, what we are doing here this early in the morning."

Yukinoshita huffed, slightly annoyed. "Why don't you venture a guess, Hikigaya-kun?"

"I don't know." Hachiman looked around and rubbed his head in annoyance. "Didn't I tell you I can't think properly, right now? The monster of logic needs it daily supplements, you know."

"You speak like an addict you know." Yukinoshita stated, coldly.

"Not true." Hachiman said, shaking his head. "I can go without coffee any day. I just can't go without it this early in the morning. And if by some cruel twist of fate I can't get coffee, well, I might as well settle for tea."

"What if you can't get tea as well?" Yukinoshita asked. "What will you do then?"

"A world without tea and coffee," Hachiman thought out loud.

"Yes." Yukinoshita confirmed.

"I could gather the dragon balls and-"

"Pardon-?"

"Oh, give me a break! I haven't have coffee yet!" Hachiman screamed. "I think I am hallucinating things again. Oh, Good morning, Koro-sensei. Can you meet me outside in a moment? I think I have come up with a new plan to kill you today. If I succeed to kill you can you get me some coffee fresh from Hawaii?"

"…I don't know who this Koro-sensei is Hikigaya-kun, but if you supposedly kill him, then won't he be unable to get you anything in the first place, let alone coffee from Hawaii."

"…Oh," He sounded so innocent. "I didn't think of that."

"You didn't think of that?" Yukinoshita repeated, just to verify it once more.

"Yeah." Hachiman stated, dumbly.

Yukinoshita Yukino took a deep breath and let it out slowly, gathering her composure and trying her best not to let the anger show on her face. "Tell me Hikigaya-kun, what did you think when I called you early in the morning and asked you to show up to this place…more importantly, do you know what this place even is?"

To his credit, he did look around a bit before answering. "It's a dance room."

"It's called a dance studio." Yukinoshita corrected.

"Yeah, that." Hachiman said, feeling bored and tired and wanting to go back to sleep.

"So, what comes to mind when you take everything into consideration?" Yukinoshita asked again. "You, me and an empty dance studio."

"I don't know." He replied. "But I think it's kind a weird how you put emphasis on the word 'empty' all of a sudden. I don't know, it makes everything sound out of context."

"I see your perverseness is not lost this early in the morning." Yukinoshita stated, coldly.

"Well you know guys get-" He was cut off.

"I know and I don't want to know it from you?" Yukinoshita replied, embarrassedly.

"And you know, in the morning, couples do-" He was cut off again.

"I don't want to know anything of that kind from you, Hikigaya-kun!" Yukinoshita proclaimed loudly. "Now please stay quiet. I need to make a call."

"Okay." Hachiman fell quiet like he was told.

"Good. Now stay like that until I say otherwise." Yukinoshita told him while calling the one person she always held responsible for everything which went wrong in her life.

"Good morning, Yukino-chan. Nee-san missed you last night in the ball. I had a great time." Haruno replied from the other side of the phone line.

"I don't want to hear any of that, nee-san." Yukinoshita stated, indignantly. "I called you just now to let you know that your plan has no merit and it is doomed to fail." She looked at the person in question, staring at her in silence. "He is unfit to be my dance partner in the upcoming ball."

"Why not?" Haruno asked. "I danced with him last night?"

"Wait, you did?" Yukinoshita asked before the meaning of her words completely settled in and made her react to it rather sharply. "Wait a minute, nee-san. What do you mean, he danced with you. I mean you danced with him. No, I mean you two danced together."

"Oh my poor Yukino-chan. It seems you are rather incoherent this time in the morning." Haruno teased, playfully. "Haven't have your morning cup of tea, have you?"

Yukinoshita blushed and ignored her statement although it was completely true. But for the moment she had some more important queries in mind. "So, you mean to say, Hikigaya-kun can dance?"

"Yes, he can." Haruno replied from the phone.

"Yes I can." Hachiman supplied, unnecessarily.

"So, this was all a waste of time." Yukinoshita asked, both of them.

"Yup!" Haruno replied, cheerfully.

"I guess so." Hachiman said, morosely.

"Unbelievable!" Yukinoshita grumbled.

"I suppose you can say that. Last night truly was unbelievable." Haruno said. "Oh, can you pass the phone to him real quick. I want to thank him for taking such good care of me and being a complete gentleman and -"

"I don't want to know!" Yukinoshita exclaimed, disconnecting the line rather pointedly and making a show of it by pressing the screen of her mobile with all her might, multiple of times.

"You look rather stressed." Hachiman opined, carefully.

"You think so!" Yukinoshita snapped.

"Whoa! Don't bite my head off! I didn't do anything, alright!" Hachiman said.

"You danced with Nee-san!" Yukino accused.

"…Well to be fair, there wasn't much dancing-"

And those were the last words uttered by one idiotic person, a self professed loner, who was foolish enough to go to a dance with the older sister the previous night and then the following morning, decide to meet up with the younger sister in a dance studio, to supposedly partner up with her, since the ice-queen was acting on the logic that the monster of logic did not know how to dance and hence it would be a superb opportunity to get close to him.

So, moral of the story: Drink your damn coffee/tea!

-/-/-/-/-

A/N: Okay, so first of all, sorry about not uploading anything for a long time. It's kind of my fault and also kind of an honest accident. Now, about the lemon, well it's not happening. Not with, Haruno at least, because like one reviewer said, I have dabbled with Haruno a lot. She is the character I wrote about most in the series and that includes plenty of limey stuff. So, no more Haruno! Sorry to disappoint you guys. But instead of her you got, Yukinoshita Yukino. That's good, right?

Also, I want you guys to take an important decision. I think I want to end this story now because it has no plot. But also, I like to keep going too, because it is easy to write. As always I don't know what to do, so I ask you guys.

So, what will it be?

Option One: End the story here and be done with it. (It was fun while it lasted)

Option Two: Carry on beating the dead horse. (It is possible.)

Or Option Three: Starting from chapter 87 make it a new story with a plot. (Change the title, rewrite the whole summary, and make all the previous chapters absolutely pointless.)

Please, pick one.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams.


	87. Artificially Sound Sequel Part I

Don't own Oregairu.

Artificially Sound: The Sequel

Part I: Bit Better.

Love has the capacity to create fissures in the wind and break the omnipotent remnants of time into insignificant pieces of malevolence and river bed reveries. Yuigahama, Yukinoshita- their physical beings, their mental worries, their emotions, their feelings, their requests, their everything- were unequivocally reduced to a thin militia of droplets gathering on her unblemished forehead in the form of sweat beads, only to be swiped away from existence by a simple swab from a mundane looking handkerchief.

"...You sweat." Hachiman observed

"Everyone sweats, Hikigaya-kun." Haruno replied.

Déjà vu is a phrase often used in the wrong context, he thought. The fundamental foundation, the meaning behind the very words is universally incorrect. Once, having lived through a certain moment in time, one having had the pleasure of a certain experience, an individual, cannot relive it in another given instance. The familiarity would every time be equal to non existence.

For example, Hikigaya Hachiman remembered the earlier occasion when he was allowed to come inside this particular apartment. He remembered the soft surprise in a pair of ice blue eyes, fatigued and tired, overworked and overexposed, from the tumultuous preparations of the cultural festival taking place in their high school and whose responsibilities were inadvertently placed upon the lithe shoulders of the president of the service club. With that particular episode of his life, followed a pain pinched memory, and more than a couple of names. Often times, nowadays, he pondered the implication of having gone through with that particular course of action, and letting the chips fall where they may. Once it was justifiable, the second time, inadvertently, it became completely common place.

"Yukino-chan, told me you don't like to talk." Haruno spoke

"I believe in talking when it is necessary." Hachiman replied.

A world put on mute would know true peace. Silence, everlasting, brokered a calm response. Peace of mind, lead to less pieces of heart. The fault lies in words. Those which are said aloud can never be taken back. Taunts and barbs, cuts close to home and ring true. Truth is a lie we keep telling ourselves. But, it becomes a problem when we tell it to others. The best confessions are the ones never to be confessed. A pity, they will never be heard.

"And when is it necessary?"Haruno asked.

"…It seldom is." Hachiman replied.

An open kitchen was a well defined and a utilitarian concept, which, he thought, suited the purpose of a person in the habit of keeping her eyes and ears open to everything taking place in her immediate surroundings. A distrustful person, so to speak, and, although, Hikigaya Hachiman, did not have the pleasure of witnessing, Yukinoshita Yukino, preparing a delectable meal in her own apartment - using the right ingredients and suitable spices - he did imagine, her to be no more different than her elder sister, currently in the process of making tonight's dinner, for herself and her little sister, if he presumed correctly enough.

"You make dinner often." Hachiman asked.

"Sometimes, I guess." Haruno replied.

A good homemade meal can never be bought from a store. Homemade, made at home, made to feel at home. Hikigaya Hachiman, could not help but wonder what the word meant to either of the Yukinoshita sisters. For him, it meant a mother's affection. The rare occasions, when despite her terrifying workload, she could spare a few thoughts, a few moments of her time, steal them really and offer a small bit of herself, her infinite love for her son and hide it in between rice cakes and pickled vegetables. The same held true for his little sister. Empty bento boxes, were better windows to the soul. Eyes could often deceive. But, never a bento. The presence or absence of tomatoes, in his lunchbox, often spoke volumes of the level he had to grovel, before being forgiven by his mother or sister. But, Hikigaya Hachiman, didn't need to ask to know the likelihood of these two sisters sharing the same experience without having a gun levelled to their head. Breaking bread, broke the bread and definitely not the ice in between them.

"Like Yukinoshita, you mean." Hachiman observed.

"Hardly," Haruno scoffed. "I'm not like her, you know."

Gangrene had settled into the fissures of the wind, spreading backwards into time. Hikigaya Hachiman, the same sisters. Younger in age, less wise, less cold, less cunning, less themselves, yet, still bearing the curse of the difference in between them, not limited to matter of age, of being the older sibling and the younger sibling, the lesser sibling in a sense. Yukino, Haruno, the two girls, the two sisters, too many likenesses, too many differences.

"No," Hachiman replied, "You are a bit better."

"Only a bit?" Haruno teased.

Cold indifference was the discarded piece of rusted over armour picked up by the younger, lesser sibling. Yukinoshita Yukino, did not become cold, did not embrace the ice. The snow underneath the snow was a namesake. Living upto it was never a choice. But, choices never factored into the matter. Not when it came to their name.

"You wanna know something funny?" Haruno asked.

Blue flames licked the bottom of the saucepan. Hikigaya Hachiman, felt the stirrings of a little hunger inside his belly from the mere sight of the contents. It was not a loud enough growl to make him grow embarrassed of the situation therein. He was not starving in the least, having had a bit of cake in the café from where everything grew out of hand and reached a terrifying crescendo: the confrontation between the four of them, the accusations of love thrown around the three, the choice of two options for one rotten individual, and the contents of the diary supposing the evidence of love for one.

"…Okay." Hachiman replied, uncertain.

Everything had come undone. The status quo was destroyed. The future of the service club hung in the balance. The fate of two sisters, the fate of two friends, everything he was reluctant about to lay a claim, to tell the truth, to tell a lie, to be himself, not better, not worse, just him, Hikigaya Hachiman, was sizzling in the oil like the contents of the saucepan. But feelings, tasted like shit. At least, Haruno's food would taste better.

"I don't really like to cook." She replied.

"…"

And, he didn't quite know what to say to that. So, like always, Hikigaya Hachiman, chose silence over a conversation which might actually lead somewhere. In essence, nothing changed.

-/-/-/-

A/N: So, like I mentioned in the summary, all my stories, which I said would have sequels, those sequels would be uploaded in this story from now on.

 **So, if you want to read the sequels of, Artificially Sound, Alphabets, Labcoats, Clichés, Almost Genuine, then you are welcome to find them here.**

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams.


	88. Chapter 88 Hikigaya's Misfortunes

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 88: Hikigaya Hachiman's Misfortunes Continues.

#High School

Everyone of any remote importance to this singular matter was assembled in the club room. The club advisor, their homeroom teacher was also present and she took over the responsibility of acting as a mediator during the entire course of this grave proceeding. However, only two members of the club were present and like expected the absence of the other member led to a small ruckus and further deteriorated the fragile foundation of the service club. It seemed the detractors would finally win and get a taste of victory by bringing forth the downfall of the club, which had gradually become eponymous with those of its members. But, it would be nothing more than a hollow victory unless all the members were present to witness her bring forth the end of the precious volunteer club. Thus, Sagami Minami, the perpetrator, the misunderstood heroine and the-would be destroyer of the service club continued to waste everyone's time and chose to wait in vain for a certain rotten dead fish eyed creep to arrive at the scene of her metaphorically ascension.

"Where the hell is he?" Sagami asked, impatient. "Oh, I had it! If that thing is not in the service club within the next five minutes I will add the word 'lousy and late!' in the list of things that is wrong with this club and let me tell you, with the way things are, you don't want the list to get any bigger. This is the complete worst! I won't wait anymore. This-"

"-Sagami-san, no one is asking you to wait." Yukinoshita said. "In fact you are the only one who has intruded upon the peace and tranquillity of the service club with your so called list of grievances."

"I never called them grievances, Yukinoshita."

"…Well yes, I think the word might have been a bit out of your vocabulary."

"Why you little bitc-"

"There won't be any name-calling while I am still around!" Hiratsuka scolded. "Yukinoshita, Sagami cool it the hell down before I throw this ridiculous case to the dirt and forget all about it. Seriously, you guys are highschoolers for God Sake and you are still behaving like a bunch of little brats! Tch, I really should have thought better than to waste my time over all this nonsense."

"Sensei, you can't talk like that over this issue." Sagami said. "It shows that you are biased in favour of all the activities of the club and that doesn't look good for you in the long run because you are also the club advisor." Her smile showed the malice behind the words. "Believe it or not the mistakes of the service club will reflect on your record."

"…I highly doubt that." Hiratsuka stated, sounding a little unsure. "I mostly take a hands-off approach when it comes to the service club. In fact it is not often that I bring in these lost lambs, um, sorry, I mean students! Yes, students! And after bringing them to the club I just leave it to the guys to do whatever the hell they wish. In fact, they have never even come to me for any kind of advice whatsoever. So, ah, you see-"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…Yeah, I should shut the hell up now." Hiratsuka said finally falling quiet before trying in vain to change the topic and ending up making things far worse than they already were. "Where the hell is Hikigaya, anyway? Is he usually this late?"

"No." Yukinoshita said. "He had been late only once before and that was on purpose."

"…Yukinon." Yuigahama shook her head. Sometimes even the smartest people could be idiots.

"So you are saying he is being late on purpose!" Sagami piped up. "Why that no good, little! You see, it is stuff like this that made me come up with the proposal in the first place. I don't have anything against the service club, you know-"

"Of course not." Yukinoshita murmured sarcastically.

"-The members of the service club think themselves better than the rest of the school." Sagami went on, unperturbed. "When a student comes to them with a request and they fail to solve it, they don't admit their failure. No, they do not! Instead they act clever and try to fool the student with their rotten methods and schemes and the student leaves the clubroom feeling they have found a solution to their problem. But the truth is they didn't find one. It was all in their head, planted in there like a rotting seed by one of the service club members."

"…Sagami-san, do you have any proof to go with these accusations?" Yukinoshita asked, tersely.

Sagami smiled. "Can Yuigahama bake cookies?"

"…" Yukinoshita glared

"…" Sagami glared.

Hiratsuka stared at the two glaring girls before shifting her eyes on the other one in a silent question.

"…Um, actually-" Yuigahama began.

"-Are they edible, Yui." Sagami cut her off.

"…" Yuigahama fell silent.

Sagami smiled in triumph. "You see, Yukinoshita, the work done by the service club amounts to nothing. The club is a waste of time and space and money." She turned her eyes to their homeroom teacher. "You would be better off shutting it down."

"…Sagami-san, I remember you coming to the service club with a request once." Yukinoshita stated. "Did we not deliver then?" She too trained her eyes on their homeroom teacher. "It is beyond dispute that the cultural festival would have ended up being a huge disappointment to the governing authorities of this school had the service club not gotten involved." Ice cold glaciers slipped in the soul of the accuser. "You were unfit to lead, Sagami-san."

But Sagami was prepared. "Hikigaya Hachiman threatened me on the roof top."

"Minami!" Yuigahama protested. "Hikki did no such thing!"

"Hikigaya-kun gave you an opportunity to save face." Yukinoshita stated coldly.

"You don't know what happened on the roof!" Sagami replied. "I was ready to jump. And he was doing nothing to help. He accused me of stealing the attention! Me! Me! And then he threatened me, spewing nonsense in front of my friends of all people. I never felt more ashamed, more helpless, and more afraid of anyone in my life!" Her voice had been steadily rising and it finally fizzled out in a soft exhale. "Had it not been for Hayama-kun I would have been dead."

"…That is a serious accusation, Sagami." Hiratsuka stated.

"It is what it is." Sagami huffed.

"…Bullshit!" Yuigahama sweared.

"Yui-"

"Bullshit!" Yuigahama repeated. "Hikki did no such thing! You hear me! He did nothing wrong!" She looked at her one time friend in something close to hatred. "How could you do such a thing, Mina? We helped you! The service club-Yukinon, me, Hikki, every one of us helped you! And now you are saying Hikki was threatening you!" Her voice steadily rose in passion. "This is wrong. I trusted you, Mina. I thought you were my friend."

"I am your friend, Yui." Sagami stated forcibly. "But that does not excuse what he did."

"It all seems to be nothing else but conjecture at this point, Sagami-san." Yukinoshita murmured. "You accuse Hikigaya-kun of threatening you. But if that had been the case then why hadn't you come forward before." She knew she got her there. "Why wait until now?"

"Why wait you ask?" Sagami asked rhetorically. "It's because I was waiting for you guys to mess up some more. I knew if I went in with only my problem to address I would have been quickly dismissed. So I waited and waited until everything piled up and became noticeable. The business of the service club is booming, so to speak. You guys helped the cultural festival committee and you guys helped the sports festival committee, and nowadays you guys help out the student council on a frequent basis. In other words the service club is at the top of the food chain!" Sagami's smile turned nefarious. "And I believe when you stay in the top you get a bit full of yourself. Not that you needed any help with it Yukinoshita-san."

"..."Yukinoshita chose to ignore Sagami for the moment and focused her attention of the homeroom teacher. "Sensei, can we be dismissed. As you can see, Sagami-san has nothing consequential at hand and is wasting all our time with her useless posturing."

"...Wait you are serious!" Hiratsuka blinked before coughing to hide her slipup. "So, Sagami. There you have it. Unless you have anything concrete-"

"The service club interfered in the student council president election!" Sagami stated, crossing her arms for added affect. "How's that for concrete, sensei."

"…Um, Yukinoshita." Hiratsuka felt unease.

"Sensei, you brought the case of Isshiki-san to us." Yukinoshita stated.

"No!" Hiratsuka replied before backtracking. "It was Shiromeguri who brought the case to me and I brought the both of them two you!"

"It's the same thing sensei." Yui piped up.

"Well, it's not the same thing!" Hiratsuka argued. "If you guys had a problem dealing with the request then you could have always refused. No one was pressuring you guys into taking that request."

"It was brought to us by a teacher." Yukinoshita stated.

"It was brought to you by me!" Hiratsuka argued back.

"If it was really that easy then I could have easily refused a request made by you in the very beginning of the term" Yukinoshita stated. "If I remember correctly sensei, it was you who brought Hikigaya-kun into the service club. You made a request to me to help him change his rotten behaviour and despicable outlook towards the world." Her eyes held a faraway look. "Had I refused you back then everything would have been different."

"No, Yukinon," Yuigahama stated trying to be comforting. "Everything would still have been the same. I would have still found out my way to the service club and would have still requested you to teach me how to make cookies."

Yuri alert, thought Sagami.

"But, Yuigahama-san," Yukinoshita replied softly. "Then there would have been no 'Hikki' in the club."

Oh rejected, thought Hiratsuka.

"…Are you guys planning to kill me?"

Hikigaya Hachiman had finally arrived in the service club and upon his entry what did he find: He found two of his female club mates sharing a bit of a-dare he say it-romantic moment, with two people, namely Hiratsuka Shizuka and Sagami Minami, watching over them with what he guessed were a jealous look in their respective eyes. Really? Well, the case of sensei was understandable. She was let down by the guys far too many times. But, there was still hope for Sagami yet. However what was further alarming was the fact that Yukinoshita just repeated in a soft and what he guessed was a menacing tone that, there would have been no Hikki, i.e. him in the club. Was that a threat or a call to arms, I mean, amorous action, thought Hikigaya Hachiman in quick succession.

"Hikki where have you been." Yuigahama greeted him quickly.

"I was with Totsuka." Hikigaya replied.

"…Aha the rumours were true then!" Sagami cheered happily. "Here we have proof of this creep's sexual promiscuity."

"Calling it promiscuous only showcases your bigotry, Sagami-san." Yukinoshita stated.

"Oi, oi, you guys are misunderstanding me on purpose." Hikigaya complained looking at his homeroom teacher. "Sensei, do something."

"I am merely playing the part of an arbitrator." Hiratsuka stated. "I shall do nothing of the sort."

"Then you are doing a shitty-" Hikigaya began

"Did you say something Hikigaya?" Hiratsuka cracked her knuckles menacingly.

"N-no, nothing at all." Hikigaya shut the hell up.

Hiratsuka turned to Sagami. "You said something about rumours. What the hell is that about?"

Sagami laughed. "Funny you should ask, sensei. Since, you are also one of the individuals mentioned in the rumour."

"What's the rumour about!" Hiratsuka asked loudly.

"That you have been giving him special tutoring sessions" Sagami replied coolly, pointing at Hikigaya Hachiman with venom in her eyes. "Rumour says, you guys are in a kind of relationship."

"Sensei-" Yukinoshita started.

"That's plain bullshit!" Hiratsuka sweared. "There's nothing between us!" She looked at Hikigaya. "Hey, why are you quiet? Tell her the truth."

"There's nothing happening between us." Hikigaya Hachiman stated blandly.

"Yeah really convincing." Sagami stated sarcastically. "But that's not all. Rumour has it you lead an extremely promiscuous life style, having relationship with a number of people like Miura, Kawasaki, Yukinoshita-"

"I beg your pardon." Yukinoshita got riled up.

"-Not you. The other one. Your older sister, Yukinoshita Haruno. Yeah, the rumour about you two getting together and fucking in secret is legendary. I have to say, I was a little jealous sometimes." Sagami had an evil look on her face as she faced Hikigaya. "Tell me, is it true you. Are you really that good with massages?"

"…Oh, really clever." Hikigaya had a knowing look on his face. "I never thought you were this smart, Sagami. Though, truth be told I think you had a little bit of help."

"...There you go again, trying to use your rotten methods to get yourself out of this mess." Sagami started with renewed gusto before faltering for a bit. "These are not rumours. It's the truth!"

"You should have started with that." Hikigaya replied coldly. "But now it's too late. You can't turn a rumour into a truth this late in the game." He had a pensive look on his face. "I bet it was a slip up. Didn't read your lines right, am I correct. Not too much time for rehearsal, having to keep everything to yourself and letting what you don't know or don't approve of be in the hands of others." Hikigaya shook his head. "That was your first mistake."

"No! You lie." Sagami yelled.

"That I do." Hikigaya admitted. "But at the moment you are doing it better." He took his designated seat in the clubroom before continuing. "Tell me, do you know what was the fatal mistake in your plan?"

"There is no-" Sagami tried.

"-You let the rumour run out of control." Hikigaya stated. "You forget, for a lie, or as in this case, a rumour to be feasible, it needs to be at least a little bit believable. As such, context is important. When you spew out such nonsense as me going on a massage spree, massaging the skirts off people like Ebina, Hiratsuka-sensei, Kawasaki, Yukinoshita-"

"I beg your pardon!" Yukinoshita piped up.

"Your sister, Yukinoshita." Hikigaya stated offhandedly. "Anyway like you were saying you got too many people involved in your rumour. It wasn't about Hikigaya Hachiman doing this or that. No, it was more about, Hikigaya Hachiman doing this or that with this and that person." Hikigaya smiled. "And when that happens, you need a smidge of truth in your side, which unfortunately you didn't have."

"…I heard you in the infirmary." Sagami was glaring.

"…Your words against mine." Hikigaya offered.

"I like those odds." She replied triumphantly.

"Ebina and Miura like them too." Hikigaya stated coolly.

"If it gets worse Miura would abandon Ebina." Sagami replied.

"Yumiko will never do that." Yuigahama stated. "She always protects her friends."

"…Kawasaki." Sagami found a different one. "You went with her to a massage parlour. I clicked a photo of you two together on my phone."

"Hikigaya-kun." Yukinoshita piped up.

"It was her uncle's shop. I was helping her unpack." Hikigaya told Yukinoshita before turning to Sagami. "Moreover, I don't know whether you noticed or not but you just admitted to be the one spreading all these rumours."

"I did no such thing!" Sagami snapped.

"You said you clicked a photo of us together." Hikigaya said. "Spreading rumours by showing a photo without providing the correct context is an old trick. A bit too old, if you ask me."

"But it worked didn't it." Sagami replied. "People believed it."

"But upto a point." Hikigaya admitted.

"What do you mean?" Sagami asked, bewildered.

"Photos lose relevance in the face of videos." Hikigaya said. "Kawasaki's uncle opened up the place. He made an ad and everything. Used footage of us, that is, me, Kawasaki, her bug brother, and my precious Komachi, unboxing everything in the place to get a more candid feel to it, however upon our insisting he edited most of the stuff out and hired a professional to do it. But I believe he has the unedited version somewhere. I might have to ask Kawasaki about it." He smiled, humourlessly at Sagami. "You should check that place out. It is a hit with the people. Might work some miracles on those nerves of yours."

"Shut up!" Sagami said. "You are just pulling stuff out of thin air. You have nothing. Where's the proof of this so called footage?"

"I just told you Kawasaki-"

"Lies." Sagami yelled. "You have nothing."

Hikigaya gave a dry chuckle. "And so do you." He looked at her, dead fish eyes throwing an unknown air of menace in the atmosphere of the clubroom. "If I were to call you out, say you are the one spreading all those rumours about four members of the most influential clique in our school, namely Miura, Ebina, Tobe, Hayama, then your reputation would be completely ruined." He gave a dismissive nod towards the club president. "I am not even mentioning the rumor about her sister." Hikigaya shivered involuntarily. "You don't mess with Yukinoshita Haruno unless you have a death wish."

"I saw you two embrace." Sagami accused.

"Hikki!" Yuigahama piped up.

"I was trying to escape. She caught me." Hikigaya admitted.

"You were in the same bus together! Sitting together!" Sagami accused further.

"We were going the same way." Hikigaya stated.

"And that would be?" Hiratsuka asked for clarification.

"…Her apartment." Hikigaya replied, a bit shy when it came to telling the truth.

"What nonsense!" Yukinoshita snapped. "Nee-san is staying with me at the moment."

"Yes, but she also has her own apartment." Hikigaya stated. "I don't see what the problem is. You moved out of your parent's home. So did your sister. What's there to not believe?"

"My moving out caused a small ruckus, Hikigaya-kun." Yukinoshita stated.

"It happened with your sister too, Yukinoshita." Hikigaya replied.

"See!" Sagami pointed out. "Are you still going to refuse that there is nothing going on between you and Yukinoshita Haruno. You seem obviously protective of her."

"Believe me, that one doesn't need any kind of protection." Hikigaya stated offhandedly before scoffing. "And really, did you really think I would go to her apartment, alone, unless, I had something in it for me."

"…Hikki that sounded creepy." Yuigahama said.

"Oh good. I thought I was the only one." Hiratsuka sighed in relief.

"Exactly what kinds of services were exchanged between you and nee-san, Hikigaya-kun?" Yukinoshita asked threateningly.

"…You see, it is talk like this that leads to all kinds of rumours." Hikigaya said before sighing. "I went along with Yukinoshita's sister because I had no choice." He smiled ruefully. "That is often the case with her, if you ever had the misfortune of earning her interest."

"So, you got in a bubble bath-" Sagami started.

"She turned her back to me, started walking towards the bathroom and I ran outta their as fast as I could." Hikigaya replied, shivering from the mere memory.

"So nee-san and you didn't get a chance to talk." Yukinoshita asked.

"I wouldn't say that." Hikigaya replied.

"What did you too talk about?" Yuigahama asked.

"…You know," Hikigaya cleared his throat, "We talked about stuff." He looked at Yukinoshita. "You mostly. The service club in general. How she was disappointed in you, in the three of us as a whole." He looked at his homeroom teacher. "She also said something about your car needing a wash?"

"I already washed, handsome." Hiratsuka stated.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Sensei, please apply a bit of context into your statements in the future." Hikigaya replied, a bit awkwardly. "At the moment, I think these three are reeling from the fact that you just called me handsome."

"But I didn't call you handsome. Oh!" Hiratsuka blushed. "Haha! Funny story! Um, about that, I call my car, handsome." She decided to make everything crystal clear. "I named my car Handsome, with a capital 'H'."

"That's just sad." Yuigahama mourned.

"I concur." Yukinoshita stated.

"Yeah..." Hiratsuka replied wistfully before catching herself. "Hey wait a minute! We are going off topic." She looked at Sagami. "You were telling us about these rumours between him and Haruno. Please continue with that."

"Actually sensei, she came in here with the purpose to destroy the service club." Yukinoshita stated mockingly. "But it seems Sagami had digressed into a different tangent altogether and confessed to being guilty of spreading all kinds of vicious rumours." She looked at Sagami with a dare in her eyes. "Would that be all, Sagami-san?"

"You can't tell me none of this is true." Sagami complained.

"Well, the one about the multi-verse sounds a bit true though." Hikigaya started, sarcasm dripping from every vein of his body. "And I confronted the one who started it."

"There was a rumour about you and the multi-verse." Yukinoshita asked a smile on her face.

"It was the truth, apparently." Hikigaya shrugged. "Zaimokuza said so."

"Oh! I got the joke." Yuigahama snapped her fingers. "It's funny because Chuuni-san was being Chunni-san."

"You are right, Yuigahama." Hikigaya said. "But if you have to explain a joke, then it just means that the joke wasn't actually funny to begin with."

"Oh!" Yuigahama smiled. "Then, I don't know what the problem is."

"Hold on just a second!" Hiratsuka piped up. "Hikigaya, how the hell did you get to know about all these rumours?"

"I kept my eyes and ears open." Hikigaya stated.

"Eavesdropping," Yukinoshita nodded her head. "I expected as much."

"It's human conditioning. People hear stuff all the time," Hikigaya amended. "Also, it's kinda stupid how people always start talking about other people, the same people they are spreading rumours about when they are in their immediate vicinity. I mean, what's the logic behind that?"

"…I guess, they might be trying to get a reaction." Yuigahama opined.

"Yes," Yukinoshita stated. "Or they are simply stupid."

"Yeah!" Hiratsuka exclaimed. "After all, they are the ones spreading the rumours."

All the people involved with the service club, namely, Yukinoshita Yukino, Hiratsuka Shizuka, Hikigaya Hachiman and Yuigahama Yui, shared a laugh at that particular observation. However, one person in the clubroom was not amused, as it was to be expected.

"All of you!" Sagami screamed. "Shut the hell up!" She pointed her finger threateningly at all the three of them, one by one. "It's all a big conspiracy. I know the truth. I saw everything. All this happened." She thought she heard a giggle. "Stop laughing, damn you!"

"I think we have all heard enough." Hiratsuka stated, standing up and then staring down Sagami reducing her to a pitiable state. "It's all over, Sagami. You are dismissed."

"Tch." Sagami scoffed. "We will see about that." She glared at the members of the service club. "What I heard, might or might not have been rumours. But, that still doesn't change a thing about what I said about the service club." The accusation in her tone was outright hurtful. "Your precious club is a self contradiction. You don't help anyone. You don't solve anyone's problems." A dry chuckle escaped her mouth. "People come to you guys with requests and the only thing you do is fool them into thinking you guys have provided a solution to their problem, while the truth is you did nothing. Nothing."

"…Sagami-san, do you know what the motto of the service club is?" Yukinoshita waited for Sagami to answer before giving the answer on her own volition. "The motto of the service club is: Instead of giving a person a fish, we simply teach them how to fish." Yukinoshita tried to smile but failed. "Do you understand now, Sagami-san?"

"…Well you better hope the person you taught how to fish had a fishing pole lying around in his basement." Sagami stated bluntly. "Otherwise, everything you taught him would mean jack shit!"

"Sagami!" Hiratsuka scolded.

"Fine. I am leaving." Sagami made her way to the exit. "But you three know I am right."

After Sagami left the service club, Hiratsuka Shizuka turned to the three members. "Well that was a bit tedious." She exclaimed before wondering. "What the hell did you guys ever do to her?"

"Nothing." Yukinoshita stated.

"Yeah, sensei." Yuigahama said. "We did nothing to her."

"…Maybe that's the thing." Hikigaya murmured softly. "We did nothing."

-/-/-/-

A/N: So, this was my attempt to make sense of everything. Most of the stuff you read so far might have been rumors. Meaning: It could be true. Or it could be false. You might never know for sure.

Yeah, I know it's not a squeaky clean explanation of everything that happened but what would the alternative be? Everything was a dream. Yeah, no, I don't think so.

Now, onto the plot of the next chapter.

Here are the options:

Option One: The Service Club is Dissolved.

Option Two: The Service Club Remains.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams.


	89. Chapter 89 Komachi creates a new problem

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 89: Komachi Creates a New Problem

 **Arc #The Service Club Survival Arc.**

 **Arc Summary** : Sagami Minami raises concerns over the activities of the service club especially with its interference in the student council election and now the existence of the service club is threatened. Can the Service Club survive the attack? Or will it be dissolved?

-/-/-/-

Komachi was surprised to find her Onii-chan home this early in the evening. Usually, because of the service club, he would be a bit late to arrive back to their home. However, Komachi was not exactly surprised to find him lounging on the sofa, a light novel in hand, keeping a can of his favourite canned beverage on the coffee table. Moving into the living room, she sniffed her nose and looked at the direction of the kitchen. Her eyes widened a bit and then returned to her older brother who was yet to greet her back. Again, highly unusual, she thought.

"Onii-chan, you made dinner already?" Komachi asked. She dropped her school bag on the floor in surprise and earned a small frown from her brother in return.

"Komachi is it really that surprising?" Hachiman asked as he placed the light novel back on the coffee table and picked up his can of Maxx Coffee, taking a small sip. While drinking, his rotten dead fish eyes looked at his sister standing in front of him, more particularly at the school bag she seemed to have dropped in sheer shock after hearing the simple new that he made dinner. Well, it was a bit unusual, he guessed. But still, not really that surprising, he groused to himself, while looking at his sister in a moment of silence before asking while pointing at the school bag still lying on the floor, "Aren't you going to pick that up?"

"…You sound cross." Komachi spoke her thoughts aloud. It was an awful habit that she had picked up from her brother. But usually, she did it on purpose to get a point across to a particular person. More often than not it was one of her classmates, especially Taishi-kun when he seems to be in one of his sis-con moods. But that could wait. At the moment, her older brother needed her immediate attention. "Onii-chan, did something happen in school?"

Hachiman expected a more direct question from his little sister. Komachi was cute and everything and she could be kind and comforting when she wanted to be, but she was not like Yuigahama Yui. She had a bit more no-nonsense kind of approach when it came to dealing with the likes of him and for that he was glad. He had faith in his little sister to keep him in line. Although, he knew for a fact that it should be the other way around. "Something always keeps happening in our school." He muttered, "I think I finally realised why it's called high school, Komachi. It's because all the brats are 'high' on something." He frowned for a bit before looking alarmed. "On second thought, ignore everything your gomi-chan just said. Komachi is too innocent to know about these kinds of stuff!"

"Onii-chan, are you talking about drugs?" Komachi remarked.

"How did you kno-" He balked at the statement. "Never mind! Just remember, don't do drugs!"

"Onii-chan, you are the one who talks like he's on drugs." She joked, picking up her bag and moving onto the same sofa where her brother was lounging on not a moment ago. Her brother moved away a bit to let her sit more comfortably. Really, he was a great brother. But that didn't mean she could make fun of him. "You know, Tobe-senpai, was shouting the same thing. I think he lost a bet or something."

"So apart from being a pervert, he also has a gambling problem…that's good to know" Hachiman mumbled under his breath, making Komachi giggle a bit. "Anyway, what was that idiot shouting?"

"He was shouting, 'Say no to drugs!'" Komachi repeated in an over enthusiastic voice.

"…Well that's a nice message." Hachiman observed.

"You didn't let me finish, onii-chan!" Komachi said. "He was saying, "Say no to drugs! But say yes to sex!"

"…Komachi, could you wait for a minute." Hachiman replied, a dark look settling in his eyes. "I need to send a text really quick."

"Oh, that's shocking! Onii-chan is sending a text!" Komachi cheered before asking. "Who are you texting? Tell me? Tell Komachi! I promise to keep it a secret! Oh, no, let me guess. It's not Chunni-senpai, is it?"

"…No." Hachiman typed out a small text and hit send before answering. "It's Miura."

"Woah! You got to be kidding me Onii-chan!" Komachi looked over his shoulders and not believing her eyes, she even snatched his phone, earning a small 'hey!' in response. But it was the truth. "Wow! This is amazing! My Onii-chan has the number of one of the most popular girls in our school?" Her eyes twinkled in happiness. "Onii-chan, are you in a relationship with Miura-senpai? Are you boyfriend and girlfriend, now?"

"No! That's absolutely not the case." Hachiman replied quickly, waving his hands around to clear the suspicion. "That's not the case at all. Miura is just a friend and she has been awfully…chummy lately."

"Huh?" Komachi cocked her head to the side. "The words 'Miura-senpai' and 'chummy' don't sound right together." Then she muttered more to herself. "But neither does Onii-chan and her sound right together. But if that's the case Komachi will be really happy! Kya!"

"Komachi your over enthusiasm is a bit…over the top." Hachiman replied. He looked at his phone in surprise when he got a reply. "Woah that was quick! I got a reply already?"

"Really?" Komachi got interested, "What does it say?"

"She says, 'They will never find his body.'" Hachiman nodded his head in approval. "Good. I knew I could really on Miura. She doesn't run a clique you know. It's more of a Mafioso family."

"That's a mean thing to say Onii-chan," Komachi observed. "Especially, since Miura-senpai was kind enough to do you a favour. I mean Tobe is her friend right. It must be tough."

"I guess." Hachiman replied. "I think I should write something back to her. Maybe a small thanks."

But before Hachiman could keep everything nice and innocent, Komachi snatched the phone away from her brother in the blink of an eye. It was too quick, just too quick. And the look of alarm on her brother's face only made her smile a bit more.

"Komachi, give me back my phone!" Hachiman shouted. "This is not funny, okay!"

"You will thank me later!" Komachi teased while her finger already typed a more suitable response. "I am trying to look out for my dear Onii-chan. Komachi won't always be there to take care of you, you know. One of these days, Taishi-kun, might actually get the nerve to ask me out. Then what will happen to you, Onii-chan. You will die alone! Komachi cannot let that happen! Never!"

"Komachi, it is sweet of you to worry about your brother, but really it's pointless." Hachiman stated, making a wild grab for the phone but missing completed and bumping into a chair instead. He winced, rubbing his knee, looking at his sister bouncing on the sofa. "I will kill that bug with my bare hands before he asks you out." He tried to grab her again and missed, diving head first into the sofa with an inaudible 'oof!'. His voice was muffled as he made a response. "Besides, Komachi don't you know! That brat is a sis-con."

"…That's a little hypocritical coming from you Onii-chan." Komachi replied.

But, Hachiman was successful in distracting her little sister. He made that comment knowing she would pause to make that particular response and it was that exact moment that he pounced on her, surprising the hell out of her and taking his phone back from her clutches.

"Aha! Got it!" Hachiman shouted in victory.

Komachi smiled. "Yup! You got it alright!" She crossed her arms over her breasts in triumph. "You got a date with Miura-senpai tomorrow!"

Hachiman looked at his phone. His eyes widened at the text Komachi had just sent to Miura and the response which came not a moment later.

'Thanks Miura! I owe you one!' Komachi wrote. 'How about we meet up at a café tomorrow so I can thank you properly.'

And the reply he got back was:

'It's a date!'

…With a heart emoticon.

"Komachi, do you really hate me so much?" Hachiman asked.

"But Onii-chan, I only said in my text that you wanted to meet up with Miura-senpai in a café only to thank her properly." She pointed at the phone. "It was Miura-senpai, who said it was a date. Your poor Komachi had nothing to do with it."

"…That's up for debate." Hachiman muttered under his breath. "Well, this isn't a problem actually. I will just not go to school tomorrow. Call in sick. Problem solved!"

"Nope! That will make things probably worse" Komachi was getting more cheerful by the minute. "What if Miura-senpai gets worried about your health and comes to visit you home, only to find that you are okay and that you only skipped school to escape your date with her." She shivered in abject horror. "…We won't have enough pieces of your body left to bury in the back yard."

"I will be buried in the backyard? What am I? Kamakura?" Hachiman asked rhetorically before sighing. "But, you are right Komachi. Because of you, now I have to deal with Miura too. That was someone I wanted to actively avoid right now."

"Well there's always a way out!" Komachi said. "You can throw me under the bus. Say, it was me who took your phone and texted her as a prank. She would probably believe it, you know."

"…Like, I would ever do that." Hachiman replied, shaking his head.

"Woah, you took your sweet time deciding that!" Komachi said, amused. "Were you actually considering it Onii-chan? Even thinking about it costs a ton of points, you know. Your Hachiman points are running in the negative now."

"Yes, yes, I know." Hachiman said. He rubbed his chin thinking. "But what the hell would I even do with Miura in this café? Moreover do I even know some café like that? With my luck I would probably run into, Yukinoshita-san or something." He felt a cold shiver run up his spine in dread. "Oh no! I jinxed it. Now I will definitely run into her. And Miura will be there too. It will be a disaster. I think I am gonna be sick. Komachi, quick! Call an ambulance."

"If Onii-chan keeps this up I might have to call an insane asylum." Komachi commented. "And, if you want to do something, why don't you guys just talk for a little bit? Onii-chan clearly has ton of things he might want to say to her."

"Oh really?" Hachiman asked sarcastically. "Like what?"

"…Like what happened in the club today." Komachi replied, none of the humour present in her voice. Everything had suddenly turned serious. "…With Sagami-senpai making all those accusations?"

"…So, you heard about it too." Hachiman replied.

"Rumours travel fast Onii-chan."Komachi said, softly. "I know you are worried about it."

"No I am not." Hachiman replied tersely.

"…The Light Novel you were currently reading is full of BL. Ebina-senpai gave it to me. And needless to say you are not into that kind of stuff, Onii-chan. And moreover that particular can of Maxx Coffee is not yet empty. You go through with Maxx Coffee more quickly than that. You sometime avoid conversation or pace your conversation around taking small sips from that can only to annoy people and let them drop the entire conversation altogether. But you didn't do that with me. So, clearly you want to talk. But, you didn't want to talk about it with me." She pointed at the kitchen. "Also, you made dinner. Like papa, you only make dinner when you are feeling guilty or angry or sad. And you seem to be feeling all of them at once." Komachi took a deep breath. "But like always you don't want to talk about this with the people you care about." She looked away in embarrassment. "So, I thought you might be able to talk about it with people you don't really care about, but who care for you regardless." She rubbed her eyes. "The list was small and you were already texting Miura-senpai."

A small silent fell between the two siblings. Not a moment later, Komachi felt a hand on top of her, patting her gently.

"You are growing up too quickly, Komachi." Hachiman said voice heavy with emotion.

Komachi took a hold of her brother's hand and squeezed affectionately. "Promise me, you will talk to Miura-senpai about what happened in the service club today." Her eyes pleaded better than her voice. "She can help."

"I know she can." Hachiman replied. "But I doubt whether her kind of 'help' is the kind we need, right now."

-/-/-/-

A/N: Sorry for the wait, but at least the chapter is kinda big (2300+ words)! Also, I found a sort of trajectory for this arc. In other words this story finally has a direction. A special thanks to everyone who voted in the last chapter. All of you are far too kind! Expect a more plot driven story soon!

So, hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams.


	90. Chapter 90 Miura Is At A Loss

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 90: Miura Is At a Loss

The scowl on her face is downright murderous now and these hands of hers are itching to squeeze the life out of those eyes which even at this moment of extreme turmoil is smiling at her from behind a pair of red, rimless, spectacles.

"That's it!" Miura shouts, "You two are dead to me!"

"Hey, why am I dead!?" Yui asks, "I didn't take your phone. Hina did!"

"Well, Yui." Miura stresses out her name. "You didn't try to stop her!"

"But I did!" Yui protests.

"You tried to hug her!" Miura shouts.

"No, I didn't." Yui replies. "I was trying to wrestle her to the ground!"

"That's a bit uncalled for, I think." Ebina smirks at the two of them. "All I did was, send a small little text from your phone, Yumiko. It was not really that much of a big deal."

"You called it a date!" Miura seethes.

"It's just a turn of phrase really," Ebina shrugs. "Besides, he started it. Yumiko, don't you remember the text he sent you earlier. How he wanted to take you out to a café to thank you properly. That whole set up screamed date. Hikitani was probably playing it safe and I don't blame him, really. I mean, you just texted him saying that they wouldn't find the dead body of one of his classmates. And killing Tobe isn't easy. Believe me, I thought about it a number of times."

"…That's a scary thing to say, Hina." Yui remarks.

"Oh, I'm just kidding." Ebina smiles. "Tobe is like a puppy. A cute little puppy. I couldn't kill him even if I wanted too. He's too much fun to have around in our clique."

"And yet you wouldn't date him." Miura points out. "I mean, you just said he is cute."

"I also said he is a puppy." Ebina replies. "Don't get me wrong. He is fun to have around and he's loads of laugh. But I wouldn't date him just for that. If that was the case then clowns would be top tier dating material, don't you think?"

"…Uh, clowns are nice." Yui murmurs. "In kid's parties and stuff."

"Hey, Yui, wanna go see, 'It'." Ebina asks. "I hear it's a hit. It would be fun. A real laughter ride!"

"On second thought I like magicians." Yui replies quick. "They know cool tricks."

"And they look hot too!" Ebina smiles. "They should make a movie about it. Two magicians falling in love, but they cannot express it, so they use magic to confess their feelings to one another. It's a super hit idea."

"And let me guess," Miura asks sarcastically. "Both the magicians are guys."

"Well, duh." Ebina says matter of factly. "And it's realistic too."

"…Uh, you should speak to Chunni-san about it." Yui states, jokingly. "He might have some idea about what to do."

"Chunni-san?" Miura asks.

"Zaimokuza-san." Yui clarifies. "He writes stuff. You know, light novels and stuff."

"Oh," Miura looks interested. "Why haven't I heard of him before? He sounds like a famous person."

"More like infamous really." Ebina replies, chuckling. "He is terrible at writing stuff!"

"He's not that bad." Yui tries.

"Have you read any of his stuff?" Miura asks.

"…Well, um, he uses way too many big words." Yui says.

"And is that a good thing or a bad thing." Miura asks again.

"For the likes of him, that's bad." Ebina replies.

The conversation between these three would have carried out in the same vein for a long time. Miura would usually ask them to come over to her house for some downtime and fun activities. Earlier, they used to switch it up a little, and drop by at Ebina's house or Yuigahama's house from time to time, but for various reasons, the three of them decided Miura's house was the best place to hang out.

Most of the time the three of them spoke about pointless stuff and it was fine. Miura was amused by the antics of her friends but this time around it came at her expense. The small exchange of texts between her and 'Hikio' should have been left for a later time. Miura realised this a bit too late. But, truthfully, she hadn't expect him to text her at all. They never texted each other and even in class they never really talked much. Miura was always with her clique and Hikio was with himself most of the time.

When, Miura read the text, she was annoyed at Tobe. He was an idiot and Miura would take care of it. She knew of the bet that led him to do those stupid things in the hallway. Sometimes, she wondered whether he would really win over Ebina with this sort of stuff. But, he trusted Hayato and though Miura trusted him too, his behaviour lately, when it even came to the idea of Tobe and Ebina getting together, was a bit, on the wrong side of beneficial.

But perhaps, Hayato was bad at helping people.

After all, he was the exact opposite of Hikio.

"So, what are you gonna wear on the date." Ebina asks, making Miura come out from her short reverie.

Miura sighs. "It's not a date. You said it yourself. It's more of a turn of phrase."

"Even then you shouldn't miss an opportunity to impress." Ebina points out.

Miura smirks. "Hikio's already impressed with me!"

"Not according to some of the rumours, though." Ebina replies.

"Don't pay attention to them! Rumours are false and baseless stuff. I thought you knew better than that, Hina." Miura replies. But then her interest gets piqued. "But, I'm not saying I believe them, but, I kinda think, it's better to know them anyways. Don't you think so, Yui?"

"Um," Yui takes too long to think.

"She means yes." Miura stresses out. "Now, tell me what you heard."

"Well, I heard, Hikitani has a thing for older girls." Ebina replies.

"O-Older girls?" Miura asks, stuttering.

"Yeah!" Ebina nods.

"How old are we talking about?" Miura feels afraid even to ask.

"Well, you know the onee-san types." Ebina points out. "Someone like, Yukinoshita-san."

"Yukinoshita!" Miura's temper flares.

"No! Not that one. The other one." Ebina correct.

"Oh…" Miura and Yui shudders in revulsion.

"That's gross." Miura replies.

"I think it's juicy." Ebina says. "Think of it!"

"I don't want to." Miura murmurs, rubbing her temple.

"Hina, Hikki and Yukinoshita-san are not like that." Yui remarks. "Hikki is scared of her too much to be anything like that."

"Well, then, how about that rumour about him and sensei!" Ebina points out. "Ah, it's even better. A forbidden relationship between a student and a teacher doomed from the start."

"Hina, you're gonna make me sick." Miura belches loudly. "Can we please talk about something else?"

Ebina shrugs. "You asked."

"Well, now I know better." Miura replies. "If we start believing all this stuff then we will believe anything. That's stupid. Next thing you will tell me, that it's true you and Hikio did some nasty stuff in the infirmary."

"We didn't do anything nasty." Hina replies, a bit too quick.

"Meaning, you did other stuff?" Miura asks, dangerously. "Huh, Hina. Now, that's something I would like to know. What went down between you and Hikio that day, in the infirmary?"

"…Nothing," Hina blushes. "He was being nice to me."

"Woah! That sounds-" Yui looks confuse before her eyes widen. "Hina! What did Hikki do?"

"…He was a complete gentleman." Hina blushes harder. Miura looks livid. Yui looks like she is about to cry. Finally, Ebina sees only one way out. "Tell you what, Yumiko, why don't you ask him yourself, what he did to me on that day in the infirmary." Hina tries to control her blush by smiling. "I am sure it would be a nice conversation starter. Something to break the ice."

"…You are not as funny as you think, Hina." Miura is in a foul mood. She turns to Yui. "Any ideas, Yui? I mean between the three of us, you know him the best." Saying those words makes her frown a little. No, Miura won't stoop so low. She won't be jealous of her friends!

"Eh? Me?" Yui points at herself.

"Yes," Miura emphasises. "You."

"Well, you can talk about the service club." Yui replies.

Miura gives her a look before turning away. "Well, Hina's idea it is then."

"No, wait!" Yui stresses. "Talk to him about the club."

"But I don't want to." Miura wails.

"And if she forces it, he will find out she's faking her interest and that would only make him angry." Ebina says. "Hikitani, hates liars the most."

"But if Yumiko is genuine…" Yui starts.

Miura sighs. "Look, I don't know where to start."

"Start by asking about Sagami-" Yui starts.

"Wait, what? Why the hell-" Miura is cut off.

"Then ask whether Sagami can bring down the club!" Yui continues.

"….Wait, what!" Miura shouts.

Needless to say, suddenly, all the pointless talk between the three friends turned into something else entirely. Yui told the two of them everything. Ebina accessed the truth and the reality of the situation and realised the potency of the threat. And like always Miura decided the course of their next action.

"…Well, that's a nice way to ruin a date." Miura scoffs.

"I am sorry, Yumiko." Yui apologizes.

Ebina sounds cheerful. "I thought you said it wasn't a date."

"…Don't start with me Hina." Miura says, pissed.

-/-/-/-

A/N: The date is on! On 8man's corner Komachi played her part and on Miura's corner Ebina played her part. Now it all up to 8man and Miura! Will they succeed? The truth? Okay, spoiler: They won't.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams.


	91. Chapter 91 Both Prepare

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 91: Preparations.

The date was meant to be a complete and total disaster, a waste of time and an insult to both their intelligence. Every molecule in his body was revolting together, taking up arms in unison and plotting a number of sinister mechanisations to bring forth a humiliating and nerve racking experience. It was considered a universal truth that the human specimen simply known as Hikigaya Hachiman did not do dates, never have, never will. But he was promptly reminded by his little sister of the repercussions of his reluctance. No one escaped the wrath of the fire queen, Miura Yumiko, never have, never will.

"You might be the first, Onii-chan. You never know."

"Oh, but I do know, Komachi."

"Be positive, Onii-chan! She might actually have a good time."

"She also might get knocked over by a flying pig!"

"And if that happens, you will give her your hand and help her get back up on her chair. There! You two had a nice, romantic moment. You see, Onii-chan, we are making progress! That's all there is to it. Be confident, be polite and be a little chivalrous. But not too much! Girls hate that."

Komachi was full of numerous advices. On a different occasion he might have wasted a couple of minutes, trying to figure out the sudden expertise of her sister when it came to the social practice of 'dating' and a fraction of a second later he would have arrived at the conclusion that her innocent little sister might have been speaking from experience, her own personal experience which warranted the scrutiny of her over protective brother. However the dawning of that particular bit of realisation would have to wait. Komachi was currently in the process of telling him the numerous disadvantages of wearing a tie to a date.

"It looks too tacky, Onii-chan. You look like a total douche!"

"But it serves a purpose, Komachi."

"…I don't even-"

"-Miura can hang me with it!"

Cracking jokes to ease the tension from appearing too palpable in his voice. His little sister was well versed in his repertoire of non existing comedic talents. No jokes, no gags. Dry wit, a sharp and ready bout of sarcasm, while keeping an eye out for the ironies of life was the closest he ever was to exploring the uncertain terrains of humour. Life's a joke, a psychotic clown used to say from the pages of a comic. And it's not even that funny. That's the lesson our little loner drew back from those pages all those years ago.

"…You need to work on your pick up lines, Onii-chan."

"It's not a pick up line, Komachi. It's called gallows humour."

"Try a joke. A funny one, Onii-chan."

"…"

"Oh right. What was I even thinking?"

Everything felt very much irrelevant. He was not a kid anymore. He wished he was, but he wasn't. At least a kid could change his mind and not be killed for his infractions. A kid could cancel a date in under a second without creating much of a fuss. He's a kid. That's the perfect excuse. Damn, kids had it lucky. No wonder all the grownups and adults held a grudge against all of them. At the moment he could genuinely relate to their miserable plight.

"…I think that's what Miura will be asking herself the entire time."

"Not if you act cool the entire time."

"Interesting. And how pray tell will I do that, Komachi?"

"By not being yourself, you silly gomii-chan!"

Hachiman chuckled in the face of his doom. Komachi was right. It was simple. Not be himself. It was an easy task. Most people try to not be themselves when they want to leave a good impression on others. A date is a prime example of this hypocrisy. On a first date, the guy pretends to be someone else entirely to woo the girl and the girl does the same and then they go back and think whether they had a good time or not. But it is really pointless. If they had a bad time, it was because both of them were pretending to be others and if they had a good time, then it was a result of completely faking their interactions. Its double standard at its finest. Life is like that. It always is and yet he tries and so does his sister with her encouragement and her time and her absolutely horrible advice to call someone else for a little bit of help regarding some information on his date's likes and dislikes. Even now while he was getting dressed, he had no idea, where he planned on taking out Miura on this date. Well, he had some idea. As per the texts, it had to be a café.

"All guys are so stupid! Why does it always have to be a café?"

"Because it's what you texted her, Komachi. Plus, there are less chances of making a scene in a café. A controlled and civilised environment, Miura will think twice before exploding one me there."

"You think so don't you, Onii-chan?"

"…Am I wrong, Komachi?"

"You know so little about girls in general. It's kinda pathetic."

Now that was downright rude. He knew just enough to escape their wrath and circumnavigate from a messy situation. His interactions with Yukinoshita Haruno had some advantages after all. Now that was a strange thing to think about before his date with Miura Yumiko of all people. Haruno. She was dangerous. She was ruthless. And she was found around cafés. He gulped and looked at Komachi. Knowing his luck he would run into her and that would be a different problem onto itself. No. He can't allow that to happen.

"Komachi. You are a girl right?"

"…Now what are you thinking, Onii-chan?"

"Do you know some better place, you know, besides a café?"

"No Onii-chan. That would be rude. You already made plans. If you change at the last minute Miura-senpai will get annoyed with you."

"She will be annoyed right? Not angry, you mean."

"Would you really risk it?"

A rock and a hard place knew no better example. Go to a café and run the risk of running into Haruno. Or change the location last minute and give the wrong impression to Miura. It was a difficult decision to make. There were many variables to consider. He might not run into her. That was a possibility. But changing the venue would guarantee her Miura's wrath. But if it was a good place, a better place than the café, then he would be golden.

"Komachi, how about, instead of a café, I take her to a ramen shop?"

"…"

"Komachi?"

"…You want to die don't you, Onii-chan."

-/-

Her wait was over. Taking down the service club was never one of her goals. But Minami never thought of it in that particular way. She only knew that she wanted to hurt him. Make him feel worthless and hopeless like she did on that day in the rooftop. He had not helped her. He had degraded her. This was the true face of that creep. But nowadays nobody paid attention to it. It was her job and her job alone to take him down.

Like she said her wait was over.

Minami received a text. Her smile stretched into something sinister.

"The fool!" Sagami forwarded the message. "He should have known better."

-/-/-/-

A/N: Now this is an important question and I have to ask this now.

Do you want characters from other animes to appear in this story

Or

Will you be satisfied with just these guys.

I mean let's face it; Sagami is not much of a villain. I mean compared to 8man.

So, hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams.


	92. Chapter 92 The Awkward Date Part I

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 92: The Awkward Date Part I

Fake chuckles often followed the forged conversations which took place in the back of the café. The patrons of this place- who were often times couples- took full advantage of the shallow comforts of privacy afforded in such a public place and proceeded to flaunt their relationship in many a generic ways: holding hands over or under the table, whispering sweet nothings in between sips and bites, and of course the most heinous, vomit inducing act of them all: trying to feed the other while making gooey eyes at the same time.

He looked at the waiter, standing there passing silent judgement upon him and asked for a clean glass of water. Needless to say, the waiter did not develop a high opinion about him. But, thankfully, he didn't really care.

Damn you Yuigahama, Hikigaya Hachiman cursed silently to the high heavens. This place sounded like a bad decision from the get go. Even when Komachi assured him and her assurances were verified by his fellow club member, who also happened to be one of Miura's best friend and confidante, he should have known better than to trust the judgement of either of them. For one thing, Yuigahama did not own a dictionary and he was certain the word 'low key' did not factor into her mind while giving him some much needed advice for this doomed date.

Calling her was a bad idea on multiple levels. Even Komachi was smart enough to realize this beforehand and though his little sister did not voice her objections outright, it was pretty much self evident from that cute little pout of hers and the half hearted glare which flashed for a moment in her eyes. After all, Komachi cared for Yuigahama. In fact, everyone who came to know the girl would eventually come to care for her in time.

By all accounts, Yuigahama Yui was a nice girl. She wanted to be friends with everyone, wanted to get along with them and know them and talk to them and be there for them in times of needs and times of fun and merriment. But, she also wanted everyone to get along. And that was simply just not possible.

Miura understood this, Ebina understood this. Hayama and Tobe understood this.

Of course so did, Hikigaya Hachiman. He made her cry once, because of this.

The words of Yukinoshita Yukino came to mind. It would have been his second time heading towards the club room, then. Hiratsuka Sensei had cut off all his escape routes. He had nowhere to go but except to return to the service club. And that's what he exactly did back then. He had opened the door and she was there, sitting on her chair, by herself, reading in silence. The small look of surprise on her face from his arrival was fleeting and the question thrown at him was marked in mockery. 'Are you a masochist?' Yukinoshita had asked.

Remembering the soft hitch in her throat and left to imagine the droplets surfacing in her eyes, Hikigaya Hachiman tried in vain to remove the weight of guilt from his rotten heart. It was not the first time he had made her cry. The tears glistening down her face in the aftermath of his fake confession to Ebina would haunt him on occasions. But, he refused to acknowledge it.

Yuigahama Yui was a nice girl. Calling the sound of her laughter fake would do him no good. Knowing the pain of absence of sorrow and the attempt to be genuine and helpful towards two of her friends who were going out on a date did not require an emotional investment. And Yet. Yet. Yet, Yuigahama had talked to him over the phone. She had not hung up or made excuses. Miura's likes and dislikes, the stuff she liked to do, the kind of things she liked to talk about- everything and anything which came to her mind, which she thought would have been remotely helpful for him, Yuigahama had told him and not even for one single second had the note of bitterness or jealousy been apparent. Why? Simple. Because, she wasn't.

Hikigaya Hachiman hated nice girls.

And on the same note he didn't look forward to the date.

-/-

Two words, 'fashionable' and 'late' summarised her arrival to the café. A brief look of her emerald gaze told him just about enough. Miura was an enigmatic individual. He understood her. Yet at the same time he did not. And despite his previous apprehension, he seemed to have at least earned a sort of approval. However, this was a completely different point system; much, much different than the one shared between him and Komachi.

"I, um." Miura began, before chocking up for a bit. "Like, um" She tried coughing to up clear her voice a little. "Um, you know…" The lack of courage, the lack of self confidence and the most glaring disadvantage of them all- taking the words of Ebina Hina at face value and using her atypical doujinshi approach to this date were only a few of her earlier mistakes. Her friend had told her, promised it would work. That if she confessed to him, told him that she liked him from the outset, then he would hundred percent reciprocate her feelings. She was Miura Yumiko after all and he was Hikigaya Hachiman. It was full proof. However, Miura learned only a tad too late to trust her own judgement. She had already said those words. Thus, the awkwardness was not entirely her fault. It was Ebina's. And like always it was Hikio's fault too.

"…" Hikigaya Hachiman was an idiot when faced with such situations. Standing up to greet her was the polite thing to do. But that was it. Ignoring her words, which were a poorly disguised and a rusty delivery of a confession was never a real bother. It was what, what saved their date from blowing up in their face in the first place. "Um, you like what?"

"I like, you know." Miura waved her hands around, gesturing at the entire place: the fans, the walls, the ceiling, the couple kissing in the back- "Eeep! No gross. Not looking." The blush which splashed across her cheeks was quick to reach the tips of her ears. For the most part, Hikigaya Hachiman kept a straight face. Had it been a typical, charming guy, he would have smiled, shown his glistening teeth and won her over. But he didn't work like that. He was Hikigaya Hachiman. Dead fish eyes and an ahoge is what you saw in him in the first place and it was exactly what he delivered. Nothing more, nothing less.

"C'mon, let's sit outside." Hachiman said, voice taking the usual note of indifference.

"O-okay, then." Miura replied, trying to regain her composure. "You go on ahead, Hikio." She was starting to feel a little bit nervous. Her fingers fiddled with the hem of her skirt, trying to straighten the soft fabric in vain, while looking for a place to put her hands. Damn you Hina, she cursed silently in her mind. After all, it was her friend who had picked out her clothes for the date and though she would admit that indeed the skirt looked cute on her, but if it were all the same, Miura would have preferred to wear a nice pair of jeans for this particular outing. The ones with the pockets, thank you very much. At least then, she would have some place to shove her hands in and stop Hikio from knowing how nervous she actually was.

This date was off to an awful start and surprisingly enough it was all her fault. The blush on her face from a moment ago and the heat of the sun from the outside, minutes before lead to her throat feeling a bit dry. Miura looked at the Hikio for a second. His back was to her and he was talking to the waiter, probably making arrangements for the two of them to sit outside.

It was different from what Hayato would have done. He wouldn't have talked to the waiter about something as small as this. He would have simply just taken the seat. No fuss, no muss, no nonsense need to talk.

Her hands were looking for something, anything, to grasp onto at this moment.

Her fingers brushed against the surface of a cool glass of water.

Miura blinked, a bit startled. Her mind had started making the comparison between Hikio and Hayato without a seconds thought. It was a bit unnerving to be honest. She knew those two were completely different individuals. That was pretty much obvious from the get go. Even a blind man could get that.

No, this was an unfair thing to do. She shouldn't compare the two. It was unfair of her. She took a small drink from the glass, the cool water travelling down her throat and having a rather calming effect on her.

By now Hikio had stopped talking to the waiter and his eyes were drawn back on her. He never spoke much, not to her, not to most people in general. 'He was the silent, serial killer type', Hina had joked. It brought a short giggle to bubble up from her throat. Miura laughed at his expense. He understood it well enough but took no offense.

But he did raise an eyebrow in question towards the empty glass she was holding. His voice lacked mirth of any kind. But it did hold a note of humour, the type which easily escaped her notice. "You know, it was my glass of water, right?"

Miura shrugged. "So what?" She tried to keep her tone equally indifferent. She knew this was not how one typically spoke to their date. But it was Hikio. As far as she knew him, he didn't really care that much, about most things. Miura could at least act like she didn't as well. "I looked at the glass, okay. The water was left untouched. You didn't drink from it. So, I don't see any problem, Hikio."

Hikigaya Hachiman pursed his lips. He was considering whether to drag this matter on or drop it in the bin, unceremoniously. For some unknown reason he decided to pick the former. The explanation came out in a rather clipped tone. "I asked the waiter for a refill."

It took not even a second for her to understand the implication of his statement. Miura was clever. But of course this did not require any sort of cleverness on her part. She could imagine what must have taken place: Hikio had arrived to the café first and he probably asked for a glass of water. She was late. He drank and finished his glass of water rather slowly to pass the time while waiting for her. Before long he asked the waiter for a refill. It was then when finally she had arrived at the scene.

Which meant, like he had said just now, she had drunk from his glass.

'An indirect kiss', Ebina had told her. It was her final piece of advice before Miura had kicked her out of her house. 'Try to get an indirect kiss, Yumiko. That would fluster Hikitani-kun out of his mind and you will get a great edge on him in this game.' What game? Miura hadn't asked. She knew her friend was more than a bit weird.

But now just like Ebina had said, the same thing had taken place. Hikio had been drinking from a glass of water. Then, she had swooped in and taken a sip from his glass. By all accounts, this counted as an indirect kiss.

But Hikio was not the one getting flustered. No, not at all. It was her instead: feeling all warm and self conscious and all fidgety and stuff and quite unable to meet his steady gaze. Miura felt kinda pathetic now. Clearly, it didn't mean much to him. So, it shouldn't be much of a big deal for her as well.

Too bad it was her hands that spoke otherwise. While placing the glass back onto the table, her hands shook badly and one occasion she almost dropped the glass entirely. But, it was quick save. Her reaction time, from those early days of playing tennis, came in rather handy. She caught the glass before it could drop to the floor and create a mess along with a noise which would paint her in a silly light. That was to be avoided at all costs.

But the loud, shrill giggle coming from the woman in the back caught her off guard in the very last moment. The glass did not fall onto the floor, thankfully. But her hand did knock it over on the surface of the table and the remaining water was free to flow all over the clean white table cloth.

"Shit!" Miura cursed aloud. "I'm so sorry!" But she was quick in rectifying her mistake. Her hands took hold of a couple of napkins and she was about to use them when, out of nowhere, Hikio appeared beside her.

She was startled again. He moved fast, rather quick on his feet. She hadn't seen him coming. But there he was, standing by her side, napkin in hand, trying to clear her mess. "No problem, Miura." He replied to her, unconcerned.

However, like it was expected, in all the rush their hands accidentally brushed.

And this time, Miura was not the only one to blush.

"I-I will grab us a table." Hikio mumbled.

"O-Okay. You go on ahead." Miura replied back.

His back was ramrod straight, his steps even and had it not been for him nearly colliding with the doorway on the way out, Miura would have thought, Hikio was still his usual, unaffected self. 'Don't worry Yumiko', the words of Hina came to mind. 'Hikitani-kun's gonna be nervous too.' Like most of the time, her friend was right.

This date was not onto a smooth start. But that was never the objective in the first place. The two of them were very different: nature wise, personality wise, behaviour wise. Thus, the initial difficulty and the lack of cohesion were almost normal. But, that didn't mean either of them could regret the company of the other.

'This was just a date. It isn't a big deal.'

This time, oddly enough, the voice sounded a bit like Hayato.

That was not good. The couple making kissy faces in the back, especially the girl, giggling like a crazed lunatic was getting on her nerves. Miura cleaned most of the water from the table cloth and left the rest up to the waiter. Then, she bundled up most of the wet napkins and dropped them in a dustbin on the way out.

Most, not all.

"What the hell!" The girl in the back yelled, clearly ruffled, her giggling coming to an abrupt halt.

"What happened?" Her boyfriend asked.

"I don't know." The girl said, picking up a balled up napkin which had neatly hit her on the back of her head. "Someone, threw this at me, I think."

"Huh, weird." The boyfriend remarked.

Outside, Miura felt a smile creeping on her lips. Hikigaya noticed it but he was clever enough not to ask. It might have been one of the reasons why she liked him in the first place. He knew when not to talk and ruin the moment.

Finally, they could talk.

The date had officially begun.

-/-/-/-

A/N: So, I hadn't updated VSD etc for a while. Sorry about that. But I was kinda writing Labcoats and didn't want to ruin the flow. But now, this is back. And like I said the date has officially begun. Like always here are the options for the next chapter:

Option one: The date focuses only on the interaction of Miura and Hikigaya.

Option two: The date draws focus on other people like Komachi, Yuigahama, Sagami etc.

Please, pick one.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams.


	93. Chapter 93 The Awkward Date Part II

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 93: The Awkward Date Part II

Miura faked a cough into her fist and cleared her throat before placing the green straw in between her lips and sucking in a bit of her ice cold beverage, making a more pronounced sound then she would have thought possible. The high sugar content of her double chocolate chip frappucino was evident from the sweet ache bubbling in her teeth. The vanishing mount of whipped cream and chocolate sauce coupled with the sensation of her straw hitting a blended piece of crunched ice at the bottom of her glass was marked by a sharp hiss of breathe.

Hachiman, nursing his first cup of plain hot coffee-a hint of cream, but no chocolate, no other stupid garnishes and secret ingredients and definitely no straw, thank you very much. But perhaps a few more spoons of sugar, no a bit more, yes, that will be all- looked at Miura while trying to disguise his confusion. "Something wrong, Miura?"

Miura placed her glass back on the table. It made a small clink but it was barely heard or noticeable. She took out the straw for good measure and began to fiddle with it between her fingers, before putting it in her mouth and chewing on it with a touch of annoyance. Her emerald green eyes did not bore into his and for that he was grateful. Hachiman had gone through with this date knowing he would screw it up. But he had hoped it would have at least happened when or more likely after he opened his rotten mouth and said something which could be easily misunderstood, misinterpreted or be downright rotten. Hence, he hadn't spoken to Miura at all.

After they were given their sit outside the café, under the large umbrella to protect them from an irate sun, he had yet to say something which was directed at her. He was sure that by now he had spoken more to the shitty, judgemental douche bag waiting their table than to the beautiful blonde fire queen sitting opposite to him who also had the misfortune of being his date.

So far, so good, he thought.

But of course Miura thought otherwise.

"Hikio, we haven't said a word to each other for over fifteen minutes!"

"…Just fifteen. Well, that isn't much, Miura."

"That's like the halfway mark to half an hour, Hikio!"

He took her statement into account. "Oh, so a date last for only thirty minutes." Deep in thought, he rubbed his chin. "That's interesting."

Her fist slammed onto the table. "Hikio!"

"Okay, okay." He raised both his hands in surrender. "I was just joking, Miura. Trying to ease the tension…in the air." He finished a bit awkward.

She raised an eyebrow. "What's there to be so tensed about?"

He tried to offer a smile but thought otherwise at the last second. Instead he used one of his hands and waved it a bit, to and fro. "This," he said, motioning to their immediate surroundings. "I don't do the whole 'meeting on dates in a cafe' scenario." His tone was soft and his eyes lacked the courage to look into hers.

Miura found it rather infuriating. "Oh," The bitterness was as tangible as the whipped cream on top of her chilled beverage. She took a sip, savouring the taste, letting it sate her tongue before finding the words for a rapt counter. "That's not what I heard."

"…" He raised an eyebrow but gave nothing away. The coffee was a bit bitter too. It wasn't fair. But then what is. A pair of dead fish eyes and a rotten outlook towards the world perhaps, his mind supplied. He chocked the thought and cleared his throat. "You shouldn't believe rumours, Miura."

"It's not a rumour if it's true." She snapped. The fire in her eye brimmed to the fore. "Besides, I don't think Yukinoshita-san is the kind of girl to spread baseless rumours. I might say a lot of things about her, but I would never call her a liar."

"…You seem to have developed a bit of-"

"-Say 'respect' and I will ask Ebina to draw freak, kinky doujinshi about you and Tobe. Knowing her, she probably has some already in her closet. Then I will personally hand them all over to the manga club and the literature club and ask them to distribute it throughout the entire school." She steepled her fingers together and affected a cute look which was infinitely more scary then a full blown glare. "In short, if you think your life is miserable now, go ahead and say 'respect'. You have nothing to worry about, Hikio."

He gulped and didn't even bother to hide the fact that he was dead afraid. "I was gonna say you have developed a bit of camaraderie."

Miura frowned. "Camaraderie? That means friendship, right? You must be really stupid to think that Yukinoshita-san and I can ever be friends." She took out the straw from her glass and used it to emphasis her point. "She and I barely tolerate each other. Get it through your thick head, Hikio."

"Ah," He looked a bit less morose. Definitely a bit less rotten. "Perhaps it was a bit of a wishful thinking on my part." He sagged a bit on his seat. "My apologies."

Miura dropped the straw back into her glass. It made a small clink which no one paid attention to except herself. The contents of her glass seemed a bit too empty. From the beginning, she knew their date would circle back onto this: their service club and the service club president. Even thinking about that snooty nosed and uptight ice princess made her hackles rise. She was hoping to avoid this up until late, but perhaps this was all for the best. After all, Yui told her that Hikio might ask her for help. Helping him should be enough. And it was a horrible date anyway. Like she expected, he's a loser by all accounts.

Miura huffed, "Just because Yukinoshita-san and I aren't friends, doesn't mean that I won't help you guys with this problem you are having with the service club." She put her elbow on top of the table and cradled her cheek on top of her palm, trying to affect a bored and bland look. "I am not that petty." The following pause was accentuated by the shitty waiter returning with a slice of cake. He placed it in front of her before walking away, purposefully ignoring him and his dead fish eyes.

"I never said you were petty." He replied, taking a small sip from his glass only to find it empty. Tch. "At the beginning when I didn't knew you any better, I might have thought you were a bit short tempered and a well, um, what's the polite word for bitchy?"

Miura seethed. "There isn't one."

"See, right there!" He snapped. "This is what I am talking about. Had it been a year ago, I wouldn't have the courage to talk like this with you. I would have been scared. And to be honest I am still a bit intimidated." The smile on his lips was carved with pain. "Not of you, never that. At least not now. But what this means for me." He placed his hands on the table, fists closed to drive home a point. "I hate change Miura. And I am quite selfish." He looked her in the eyes, dead. "Those two things are…not good for anyone."

Miura looked at him with an open expression. "Well, I consider you a friend, Hikio." Her smile was bright and it made something warm blossom in his heart. "And I don't give up on friends just because they are acting out and being weird or rotten or creepy."

"I know," He smiled. "It's one of the things I like about you."

She tried to hide her blush and failed to play it off. "It's good to know that my friendship with Hina can earn me a compliment every now and then." Her smile was infectious. "Mostly people look at me like I am the crazy one."

"No. That's when you lose your temper." He teased.

"I don't lose my temper that often!" Miura blushed ever redder.

"The traumatised students of our school beg to differ." He replied smoothly.

Miura huffed and crossed her arms over her breasts. "I think I liked the scaredy cat, Hikio better."

"He's still there." He smiled and looked at the slice of cake. "For example, I was wondering whether you would be okay with us sharing that." He pointed at her cake.

"…Sharing?" Her eyes widened. "You mean?" The heat began to overflow in her cheeks.

"Just wondering, Miura." He emphasised. "Because I was scared you would call that being gross." He too was blushing though not as horribly as her.

"Get your own cake." She joked instead.

"Can't." He said. "I hate sweet stuff."

She left her look be a question in itself. "But then,"

"It's okay if it's a little." He replied.

"…Okay then." She said.

Miura picked up her spoon. "But I am not feeding you." Evading his eyes proved difficult. "You're too lazy as it is."

"Yeah," He replied. "I wouldn't have asked." The open and frank look was rather becoming. Except for the eyes, he could be called a bit handsome. "I don't do lovey-dovey stuff that well."

"It's good that you don't." Miura teased, "Otherwise you would come off as a flirt." Her emerald eyes held a well meaning glare. "And I don't date flirts."

He looked at the time on his phone. Thirty minutes. "Clever girl." He teased back.

The duo shared a moment and for a while it seemed like the date wasn't as horrible as she thought in the beginning. Hikio was Hikio and she was frankly happy that he didn't pretend to be anyone else for her sake. Though, there was room for improvement, a lot of improvement if she was being truthful, but Miura was happy with what she had as of now.

But then her phone buzzed and it kept on buzzing. Someone was calling her. Hikio looked at her phone only once then evaded his eyes. She wondered whether he could read the caller id even from his seat since it was inverted. More likely he saw the image of their mutual friend.

"Sorry, I," Miura had half a mind to ignore it. Only half though. She picked up her phone. "What is it? You know I have. What? You are sorry? Then why? What? Look, wait, wait." She put a hand on her phone and looked at Hachiman. "I am sorry about this. It's-"

"-Yuigahama." He replied. "Yes, I saw the caller ID."

Miura smiled but it was short lived. The words being spoken on the phone seemed to have a drastic affect. Her tone was clipped. "Don't worry, Yui. I would be there." She sighed. "Yes, I will tell you precious 'Hikki' that you are sorry for ruining his date. But what about me Yui, huh? I was his date. You ruined my date too!" She heard something and was further enraged. "What, do you want to burn down your house? You can't cook! Stay away from the kitchen." She looked at Hachiman once more while giving her reply to the phone. "I am coming, Yui."

She disconnected the call and huffed out a deep breath. "Just when I thought this date was getting good."

"No worries." He provided. "Friends come first, you know."

"I know." But before she got up from her seat and took her leave, Miura took a spoonful of the cake and put it in her mouth. Savouring the taste of the sweet and creamy treat, she looked at him and pointedly said. "There I took a bite. Now-" Her voice shook a little. Drats. It's nothing special. Keep it together, Miura. "-now you enjoy the rest."

He got up from his seat. "I hope you had a wonderful time." Only one step brought him close enough to her reach. He stood, waited.

"I did." Miura said.

Then, just because she could and also because the rotten idiot before her would never be bold enough to ever take the initiative, Miura took another step forward and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

It was meant to be awkward. He went stiff and her breath hitched. But soon both of them relaxed. Miura could feel his heartbeat. He could see the blush spreading down her neck and disappearing into the collar. Damn, this height advantage would get him in trouble, he thought.

Breaking the embrace, Miura nodded once, more to herself than anyone in particular. "I better get going."

"Do you-" He left the rest unsaid.

"No, I can handle it." Miura said. "It's Yui being Yui." Her smile was a tinge forced. "We didn't even get to talk about the problems you are having with the service club."

Guilt did not factor into his voice. "I wouldn't have talked about it in the first place." He said. "If the club and its members have done more wrong than good then I think it's best if it is discontinued." He looked away. "We had a good run. But now I think it is for everyone's best interest to give up on the club."

"Even its members." She asked, confused.

"Especially them." He added.

Miura bristled his comment. "So, what? You don't get a say in any of this? You just roll over? Is that it?" She asked, heatedly. "Well, that's not happening." She laughed accepting a sort of unspoken challenge. "But you are right, Hikio. At least about one thing." Her eyes burned in excitement at the downfall of those who dared to challenge her throne. "You don't get a say because all you say is hopeless stuff!" Her index finger poked him in the chest. It didn't hurt. "You will see. I will snap my fingers and all this will be over. Just like that! The service club will still be there, open and taking requests. You can count on it!"

"Miura-" He didn't try.

"No!" Miura said. "I know you think it's a bother. But it really isn't." She struck a cute pose, hands on her hips, daring him to cut her off. The fire queen was on full throttle. "Think of it as a compensation for cutting short our date."

Before he could open his mouth to argue, Miura hand already shut him up with another rushed hug. This time he didn't have time to react. He only had enough time to get used to the feel of her body against his and it was really nothing to be embarrassed about, honest, he said to himself.

"Just shut up and be grateful!" Miura mumbled into his chest. "I don't date losers."

"Ah well" He tried in vain.

Her words were almost swallowed up by the wind.

"You are an exception, Hikio."

Later, he stood silent and watched her walk down the street and hop into a bus. His hand rose on its own volition and waved back at her, mirroring her action and her smile, and soon the heavy weight of guilt and rottenness took him by the shoulder and gave him a hearty shake.

He sat back down on the chair and looked at the empty seat before him. The slice of cake on the plate was only partially eaten. Miura really liked sweet stuff and she wasn't shy enough to leave her food completely untouched. He could almost smile. It was cute in a huffy puffy way. The fire queen was a sweet girl at heart. Who would have thought?

…I shouldn't have, he thought grimly.

Had Hikigaya Hachiman been like most high school idiots, he would have missed the presence trying to be all sneaky and leave undetected from this café. But he was smart in a cunning kind of way.

He shifted their entire date outside just because he wanted to let them know that he had fooled no one. Well, except Miura perhaps. It was also one of the reasons he tried to be more discreet on his request.

He didn't look at the girl while dragging the plate of cake to his side of the table. But his words were for her regardless. "Hello, Nakamachi Chika." He spoke in a cool voice. "I couldn't help overhear you laughing inside with your so called boyfriend." This time he turned and faced her. "Tell me did you spend all your time spying on us or did you actually get a chance to enjoy your date."

Chika Nakamachi didn't bother hiding the venom in her gaze. She knew this guy was trouble long before her friend, Orimoto Kaori tried to cosy up with him with that pathetic excuse of going out on a double date. She couldn't understand why Kaori would try to be friends with him again. Back in middle school, Chika did Kaori a favour when she spread all those rumours about Hikigaya and the way he got rejected. That put him in his rightful place and he should have stayed there. But no. He was overreaching his mark. Yet, again. "Let's talk about you, Hikigaya-san. You seemed awfully grabby today." Her eyes lacked any kind of warmth. "You were hugged twice. Twice! And Miura-san is quite well stacked too." Her smile was cruel and acidic. "Tell me, did you try to cop of feel?"

He paid no heed to her words. "I see you have given up on trying to leave stealthily." He got up from his seat and took the plate with the cake as well. "Excuse me, while I go and meet up with a douche."

"He's not a douche!" Chika yelled.

"He wore sunglasses and a hat inside a café." Hachiman replied. "Any one of those qualifies him as a douche."

Chika swore underneath her breath and Hachiman closed the door shut on his way in while making a bee-line for the person occupying the back seat. It was the one with the boy and the girl, the same girl, Chika Nakamachi, that he met outside. Now, the boy had taken off his easy to see through disguise, the hat, the sunglasses, the weird ass hoody/jacket and even the sight of his blonde hair was getting on his nerves.

"Nakamachi-san left, I take it." Hayama Hayato asked without even bothering to look at him.

Hikigaya Hachiman nodded before speaking in ire. "The way you two were making all those love-dovey kissy-hissy faces I would have expected you to be on a first name basis with her already. So what happened?" He asked while putting the plate down on the table and taking the seat opposite to him. "Was her laugh a bit of a mood killer?"

"…I thought my ears were gonna bleed." Hayama admitted, solemnly. "But you know, for what it's worth, she kinda played her part superbly well."

"What part?" Hachiman asked. "If you were trying to spy on us you could have tried being more subtle and sneaky. Nakamachi did the exact opposite!" He stressed out. "She got the attention of, Miura from the get go with her crazy laugh. I mean, you must have seen her get hit by that wad of tissue."

"I did." Hayama said. "And it took a lot of effort to settle her down."

"I doubt that." Hachiman said.

The duo lapsed into a silence. The onus was on the blonde to carry the conversation. Hachiman could get a reaction out of him quite easily. He took a small spoonful of the cake on his plate and put it in his mouth.

"Hmm, tastes sweet." Hachiman murmured.

Hayama furrowed his eyebrows. "I would appreciate you not making a show of it." He replied tersely. "And before you think you are special, you most certainly are not." He pointed at the cake distastefully. "Miura shares food with all her friends." His teeth sparkled. "Including me."

Hachiman shrugged. "Only Riajuu think they are special."

Hayama crossed both his elbows on the table. "Then, according to you, Miura you be a Riajuu as well."

Hayama Hayato could get under his skin. Hikigaya Hachiman hated it. He took a rather big bite of the cake, this time using his hands. Yes, he was being spiteful. Hayama looked at the waiter instead of focusing on him. It worked. He could have smiled. Instead, he did the worse thing imaginable. He spoke. "So, you and Sagami don't want the service club to exist." He spoke using an uninterested tone. "Big shock, that." The sarcasm in his voice dripped like the topping on his cake.

"…Once, Sagami and I met in the rooftop and let's just say…" Hayama let his voice trail on. "We struck an interesting conversation."

"Sagami hate Miura." Hachiman pointed out.

"She hates the service club more." Hayama offered.

"…Of course, but you are forgetting one thing." Hachiman smiled. "She hates me the most."

Hayama cracked a smile of his own. "Your usual methods won't work this time, Hikitani-kun." He replied coolly. "Believe it or not a lot of people have come to care about you over the months and they won't let you do something stupid or drastic." He looked at him, accessing. "That makes you mostly harmless."

"…I still manage fine." Hachiman said, gritting his teeth. "How did you think I managed Miura to leave?"

"I would have expected you to ask Yui for some help." Hayama offered. "She, being your friend and the easiest to believe your words."

Hachiman clenched his fist. "I told Yui beforehand to call up Miura after thirty minutes and make up some excuse because I don't think I could carry a date for much longer." Rotten dead fish eyes looked starkly white. "I did that because I knew I had to have this talk with you and I couldn't have this talk if Miura was here, breathing down your neck." He pushed the plate aside. "You would have been your douche bag self and not the one sitting here right now."

"And who do you think is sitting here, Hikitani?" Hayama asked, all kinds of levity having gone from his voice. "Do you know what I can do when I get serious?" He raised his finger to point directly at his face. "You are stirring things up, Hikitani. I didn't like it at first, but I didn't pay too much attention to it. It didn't affect me. It didn't affect my clique." He shook his head, a bitter laugh escaping. "But I was wrong. So wrong. I should have realised this soon after our trip to Kyoto. You and that fake confession." His eyes were levelled into a glare. "If you hated doing it, then why did you do it in the first place. I didn't ask you to confess!"

"…I had certain notions." Hachiman said. He looked to the side. "I now realise they were wrong."

"Then be happy in your own admittance, Hikitani." Hayama stressed out. "Nobody asked you to preach them to others."

"I am not a preacher, Hayama." Hachiman replied.

"No?" Hayama's voice barely held back his rage. "Then why are you trying to break apart my clique!"

Hachiman met his gaze. "…I could ask the same about my club."

Both of them held the others gaze. "You started it first." Hayama replied, crossly, picking up his hat and sunglasses and shrugging into his jacket. "Look, Hikitani, I can't promise you anything, but, if you guys dissolve the service club on your own then this won't get messy."

"Deal." Hachiman replied, coolly.

"Deal?" Hayama was a bit shocked. "I don't-"

"-You don't understand, right." Hachiman asked. "Well, you got yourself a deal, Hayama. I will try to dissolve the service club. Only I." Hayama grimaced. "Yeah, it won't be much help any way you look at it. But the rest and by rest I mean Miura now as well." Hayama groaned. "Yeah, her, as well now, she will try her best to keep the service club going."

"…How did you even manage that?" Hayama asked. "Miura hates, Yukino-chan's guts. And I know for a fact she doesn't like you that much."

Hachiman finished off his cake, Miura's cake if he was being extra spiteful and gave him a reply. "It's true. Miura hates Yukinoshita. But she does like to help her friends. And she has two friends in the service club."

"-That-" Hayama sounded confused.

"I also didn't ask her for help." Hachiman said offhandedly. "Told her not to bother."

Hayama buried his face in his hands. "Reverse psychology? Really?"

"Well, I wouldn't call it just that-" Hachiman started a bit cheerfully.

"No don't you even." Hayama threatened. "I am leaving!"

"She also happens to like me as well." Hachiman added.

"I didn't hear that! I am leaving!" Hayama yelled while running out of the café.

Hachiman smiled for a bit. Self indulgence was a nice feel. It was at least, until the shitty waiter came back.

"You know Onii-san; I am a bit surprised that no one recognized me." Kawasaki Taishi said. "I mean I was waiting both your tables. Am I really that unrecognizable?"

"You are a shitty waiter. Why would anyone pay attention to you?" Hachiman stressed out. "And didn't I tell you not to call me Onii-san anymore."

"Komachi told me to." Taishi replied.

"Komachi? Komachi!" Hachiman shouted, shocked. "When? Why?"

Thus the awkward date came to a conclusion.

-/-/-/-

A/N: Sorry about the delay. But it was kind of a big chapter (4300+ words) so hope you guys forgive me.

Now, there were a lot of call backs in this chapter from some really old chapters. The whole 'Chika Nakamachi' stuff was from way back in 'Chapter 37: Orimoto's Mistake'. The Sagami-Hayama stuff was from 'Chapter 4: Anytime.' You don't have to read them. They don't have much bearing.

Now onto the next chapter. Here are the options:

Option One: Shiromeguri's Case. (To hell with the plot!)

Option Two: Sagami's Case. (Follow the current plot!)

Please, pick one.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams.

-/-/-/-


	94. Chapter 94 The Fall: Prologue

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 94: The Fall: Prologue

They were worried. He caught their movements. Miura was just about done glaring and was ready to march down and shout some sense into him. Ebina was the only one capable of keeping her rooted to her spot in the back benches of the classroom. She was managing fine but levelled him with a displeased frown.

He could grimace back at her but that would require letting them know he cared.

He did not. Not at all. But he was thankful all the same for Yuigahama not being present for the time being. It was lunch time. She had gone to visit Yukinoshita and eat together in the clubroom. At least he should be a little grateful towards her for being considerate. Out of all of them he didn't want her to be present here at this moment. He wasn't sure whether he could take the look in her eyes.

Yuigahama mattered, the monster of logic chortled from the back of his mind. He wanted to choke the smug bastard. Unfortunately for him, he needed the voice of reason. More than anything he needed it right now.

Almost as an afterthought he looked to the back of the classroom. Hayama Hayato was laughing at some joke Tobe just told. More likely he was laughing at his misery. It was good game. All fun and games. Except it was not. Hayama had his objectives. He had his. He wanted to take down the service club. And he wanted to take down their entire bloody clique. Everything was fair. His smarts. His rottenness.

Blinking, a bit taken aback, Hachiman realised he was mixing all this up. Was he talking about Hayama or himself? It was almost like the two of them were interchangeable. Now that was the biggest problem. It was in Shakespearean terms their fatal flaw. Either of them could exploit it at the others cost. Right now, Hayama was playing his hand. He was good at it. Probably the best. Better than him at least. He knew it was a trap. The whole thing apparently.

Yet he couldn't figure out the part played by others in this reancatment. He had hired the most unusual of people to take him down. There was Chika Nakamachi. An odd choice. He seemed to remember her face. Not from the double date. God no! But from somewhere else, perhaps sometime else entirely. Middle school memories came to mind. He squashed them down. It was difficult. Always was. This was proving to be difficult as well, though, for entirely different reasons altogether.

"Did you get a heart attack or something?" the red haired girl asked, standing beside his desk. "God! Has it been that long since you talked to a girl, you rotten scumbag."

At first Sagami Minami had come and slammed her hands on top of his desks to grab his attention. When he had responded by blinking up rather stupidly at her, she had cocked a hip to the side and placed a fist on it, striking a comically imposing figure.

Hachiman had decided early on to discount her as a token pawn. She was a piece of lint on a silk shirt. He didn't wear silk shirts. Though, he was pretty sure, pretty boy, Hayama did. Hence, Sagami was his head ache. But she had the nasty habit of acting out on her own. And neither Hikigaya Hachiman nor Hayma Hayato had the patience to deal her in, in this high stakes game, even if it was her show and her game from the very beginning.

Without speaking a single word he looked to the back. The blonde douche was busy laughing it up. He was busy being loud and obnoxious. In other words he was losing it.

Sagami followed his dead fish gaze. "I am not that blond bitch, dumbass." Her lips slipped into a small frown. "Everything I do isn't about him."

He saw Ebina taking a hold of Miura, stopping her from getting into a screaming contest with Sagami, purely because it was the responsible thing to do. She was looking out for a friend.

Also, because a lot of it rested on Miura's shoulder. Her acting out, behaving irresponsibly, acting like a spoilt child, a stuck up bitch and a snooty snob to the rest of the class would hamper her image. Her image was synonymous with their clique. Soon, she would warrant the eyes of adults and get teachers involved. Tobe always caused a ruckus. Miura and Ebina kept him in check. But if Miura let lose as well, then it meant trouble for their friends. As in their friendship would be destroyed. No more clique.

And just like that it clicked.

Sagami wanted to destroy their clique as well. His fingers drummed over the wooden surface of his desk. He was thinking too much. He wasn't thinking at all. Tenderly and with much care he looked up from his seat and met her gaze.

"You wanted to talk." He asked, repeating her question.

"Yeah," Sagami said. "I wanted to talk."

"Then talk." He said. "I'm all ears."

Sagami did not look impressed. "Honey, even I am not that stupid." Then she looked back and winked at Miura, making her seethe and grind her teeth in anger. "And, if this is some kind of ploy to get me slaughtered by that bitch in heat there, then well, you have to come up with a better idea, because I am kinda hoping for this to end in a bitch fight." She looked back at him, a cruel smile resting on her lips. "Though, I can honestly say that there won't be much complaining going around. It will be a great show for the whole class. You can slobber over us fighting and tearing each other's clothes off like the rest of the guys."

He didn't know what to say. But he had to say something. "Don't call Miura a bitch."

"But she is!" Sagami whined in a loud voice.

Now she had a few people paying attention to them. Earlier it had been only Ebina and Miura and Hayama and Tobe, though most of them were paying attention to their conversation for completely different reasons. He didn't want to dissect their intent. It was too much work. Wasn't worth the effort even. Miura was jealous. Ebina was curious. Hayama was scared. Tobe was confused. There he did it anyway. Argh! He couldn't help himself. He couldn't stop. It was unbearable.

"A physical fight is the last thing you need, Sagami." He kept his tone even and firm. He wanted to put up a show as well. Of confidence he didn't quite have. As expected it didn't work. But cold logic always did. "Miura isn't just a pretty face and you know that. There's also Ebina to consider." He didn't want to mention her name. She had done her fair share of dirty work. For him no less. He felt like a complete bastard. But that never stopped him. "There's also Yuigahama to consider."

Sagami narrowed her eyes. He knew her name would get a reaction out of her. He could have smiled. But he was smart enough to reconsider. She wasn't.

"You dragged Yui into this mess." Sagami was losing the playfulness in her tone. Good. It meant whatever plan they had or if there was one in the first place was now effectively derailed.

He let her tower over him and allowed himself to be taken by her rage. The hand which had earlier been slammed onto the top of his desk to gather his attention was now slammed on top of the flesh of his palm to get a rise out of him and cause him a bit of pain. Physical pain was good. Better than mental suffering. But it hurt like hell regardless. "She was my friend. My true friend!"

Sagami was strong. It must have taken a lot to admit that. "First Miura took her from me."

There was a real ache behind her words. "Then you took her from me."

Her eyes had judged him before and like back then, it found him guilty. "You and your precious club!"

A hollow look came over her and it was far more scary then any glare which she could muster. "She was my only friend, you know. My childhood friend."

She looked lost, hurt and not for the first time, he wondered whether he did wrong by her.

The whole cultural festival incident. Had he not been involved, had he not done what needed to be done, it would have all been a spectacular debacle. But it would have been hers. Now even that wasn't.

Everyone knew what happened. He was painted as the villain. Sagami as the unfortunate victim, the girl who gave up and cried her eyes out on the roof. And Yukinoshita Yukino, the ice queen, the untouchable cold beauty was the unsung hero. Aided, of course by the charming prince of the entire school, the one and only, Hayama Hayato.

According to the students those were the real players of the act. Not her. Not, Sagami Minami.

"Yuigahama is still your friend, Sagami."

Sagami laughed a bitter laugh. "No she isn't."

"You know her better than me." He tried a different approach.

"You damn well right I do!" Sagami cursed.

"Then you know Yuigahama Yui never leaves her friends alone."

Sagami looked crestfallen. "There's always that one friend who gets left behind."

"It's not you, Sagami." He tried again.

"I kept telling myself that for a long time." She sighed.

Sagami Minami was never a danger. She was a simple girl, a bit obnoxious, a bit vain, a Miura without the ability to take charge of a situation. Or more likely, a Miura without the likes of Ebina and Yuigahama. He wondered whether Miura ever realised how lucky she was to have friends like those two. Knowing her, she did.

Hachiman could have envied them. But of course having friends was never one of his childhood goals. Bullying tends to strike that one off from his list of things to do in the future. By now he wanted to be left the hell alone. But he did like company. He didn't like to talk much. He didn't like to listen to useless chatter and gossip. But he didn't drive it away. God! It was a horrible thing to admit. He was changing. And for the first time it was all for the better.

Sagami deserved the same. He knew this could all be a trap. But Goddammit, he was trying to be better. Rotten dead fish eyes and the monster of logic were revolted. He could take care of them.

"You wanted to talk."

She nodded her head. "Meet me in the roof."

Of course, she wanted to talk alone. This was so obvious. The most stupidest of stupid plans. No wonder he never took her threats seriously. Even Hayama could come up with something better. Not by much, but a little bit. At the least he hoped. Otherwise, he was worrying over nothing. "Yeah, no." He shook his head. "I think my spirit would punish me by refusing to leave for hell if I was stupid enough to fall for that one."

Sagami raised an eyebrow. "…Come again?"

"You are obviously planning to push me off the roof!"

"What! How would I-"

"I am not that heavy. And you are quite strong. And it would be kind of poetic, you know, to finish me off where it all began."

"I am not going to push you off the roof!" Sagami was red. Anger, hate, everything was bubbling under the surface of her skin. "God, you can't be this stupid."

Hikigaya did often wonder whether it was the other way around. People shouldn't be this easy to fool. But perhaps this was the inner monster talking, not him. He hoped not. "If I am this stupid then what does this say about you lot."

Nice choice of words. He wondered whether Hayama would bristle at him calling him an idiot. It was beginning to turn into a running gag. Or perhaps he would play it off, saying he didn't quite catch it.

Oops. The laughing had stopped. Hayama was giving him the stink eye. Small favours like this made the world at least a bit more bearable. He was about to spout some more nonsense when his stomach grumbled.

And of course Sagami heard him. "You haven't eaten yet."

It was an odd question to ask. "No, haven't quite gotten to it." He tried to keep his tone bland. "You see I was busy talking to someone."

Sagami was about to tell him off too. He could see it in her eyes as well. But then he heard it. He had sensitive ears. It was the boon of his existence and the bane of it too. He heard the faintest of grumble coming from her stomach.

Looking up, he saw Sagami turn a bit pink. She was embarrassed about this. Of all things, including having a straight up cat fight with Miura, with the promise of tearing off of clothes and putting up a show, this harmless grumbling sound coming from her stomach was what had her blushing like an innocent girl.

It was confusing.

But the glare wasn't. It clearly meant she hated his guts even more. "You know it's kinda creepy that you can hear this kinda stuff." She didn't pout. But it was close enough. "A good guy wouldn't have brought attention to it."

He smelled double standards. "You heard my stomach grumble." He pointed out.

Sagami shook his head. "It's different." She twisted her face, grimacing. "You could fart in public and laugh it up."

Now this was getting a bit idiotic. "I don't fa-" He swallowed his words, embarrassed at having jumbled them up. "I mean, I don't laugh over farts."

"Wow! That's something I never expected to hear you say out loud." Sagami looked like this was an interesting conversation to have. Hachiman wondered whether she was bipolar.

"I never expected it myself." He sighed.

This wasn't going anywhere. Time was ticking. Break would be over. He hadn't eaten yet. She hadn't eaten too. He didn't care about that. It was an observation. It was also a nice way to have a proper chat.

"Look, grab your lunch." He made the decision for her. "We will talk while eating on the roof." He heard Miura shriek in the back and saw Ebina actively trying to smother her down. He was a bit worried. Not for her welfare, no. More about his own. "That work for you?"

Sagami blinked. He could almost see it, the idea bouncing around in her head. Like him, she was weighing the pros and cons and to her credit she didn't take too much time. "I could eat."

Odd choice of phrasing, he would have to give her that. Perhaps, she lost some of her clever words when she was confused. Who know? He didn't at least. Nor did he want to. Not now, not ever. He could not be held accountable for what happened to her in the cultural festival. He gave her a chance to save face. That should have been enough. But it wasn't. Not for him. Not for her as well. "Okay then."

She nodded. But she stood there. Didn't leave. He took a deep breath. Of course it had to be difficult. More like she had to be difficult. "Sagami, go get your bento."

"I didn't bring one." She replied, coolly.

"…Why the hell not?" He asked.

"…" Sagami replied, but it was too low to hear.

"Sorry, I didn't quite catch that." Hachiman said.

Sagami tried to play it off. Play the cool and suave femme fatale. "…I said I forgot to bring one." She inspected her nails, disinterested. "I think I left it on the table back home."

Needless to say she failed.

Miserably.

-/-/-/-

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. But I wasn't feeling well. A bit of fever, a bit of cold. But anyway, like you guys wanted you got Sagami (along with the plot.) Now this is the start of a new arc. Hope you enjoy it. And now like always here are the options for the next chapter.

Option one: Sagami gains trust.

Option two: Sagami betrays trust.

Please, pick one.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams.

-/-/-/-


	95. Chapter 95 The Fall Part I

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 95: The Fall Part I

The cultural festival fiasco was the birth place of a number of emotions: the misguided hate of hers, the self disguised disgust of one and the detestable self loathing of another were a select few to name and like always, of course, there could have also been a plethora of others, names to go with the emotions and vice-versa.

Now Sagami was back on the same rooftop. And like back then she once again found herself waiting for someone to pull her back to the real world of the uncertain and the unknown. She wanted to take back everything, simply give up and hide in a corner till the coast was clear.

A better understanding of the situation was the current need of the hour.

Unlike a certain blonde dickhead who spent most of his free time posturing in front of a group of Neanderthals, she was actually making a move in the right direction, which of course and obviously, had to be a step forward.

But then this rotten, druggy-eyed skunk went and brought a bento.

The most god-awful bento in the world.

"What is this shit?" Sagami shouted.

"I have been told it is edible." Hachiman professed.

She was peering into the lunch box now and poking at its contents with a chopstick. "It looks like goat shit. Like actual goat shit! What the fuck!"

Hachiman looked at the food as well. "I think its natto."

Sagami made a sound in the back of her throat. It seemed like she had given up on humanity as a whole. "Thanks for the image. I am pretty sure I can never eat natto for breakfast. Ever!"

He gave a curt nod and returned to his own pick. The chopped head of the fish seemed to be staring back at him with a haunting look in its eyes. He told himself for the third time that it was his over the top imagination at work. The fish was dead. There was no way it blinked.

"This is cooked, right?" He asked.

"You are asking me!" She balked.

Her loud voice was not a bother. The roof had been empty upon her arrival. A certain blue haired delinquent was rumoured to hang around and smoke up here during break time. But luckily for them she was not here at the moment. Now she was really scary. Miura and Yukinoshita were nothing compared to her. But she was certain even that delinquent would have caved in under the pressure of eating all this terrible food.

"I didn't know you were such a shit cook, Hikigaya." She pulled a slice of tomato from the pile of other boiled vegetables and grimaced at the mere sight of it. "And of course, you put tomatoes in this, because, why the hell not!"

Now this was interesting. But no, it couldn't be. It was too easy, too much of a coincidence

"Wait, you hate tomatoes?" He asked, timidly.

She became a bit more defensive. But her tone of voice was sure and certain. "Let me put it to you this way." She flung the piece of filth on the roof. "I hate tomatoes more than you."

It seemed like Mother Nature approved of them eating on the rooftop. A bird swooped in and flew away with the tomato, trapped between its beak. Hachiman watched it soar in the air.

"I hate tomatoes too." He admitted.

Her eyes widened. "No way!" She looked at his eyes for a second. "Oh god, you are telling the truth. You really hate them too." But then she looked back at the food in confusion. "But then why the hell did you put this stuff in the bento. Do you hate yourself or something? Are you a maso-"

"If you finish that word you will be in the same league as Yukinoshita." He said deftly.

It had the expected effect. Her voice trailed off.

But he realised too soon he made a mistake.

-/-/-/-

A/N: So, 600+ words. Extremely small chapter I know. But I am working on a few other stuff as well (Labcoats, Artificial, etc), so please forgive me for this one. The next one will be around 3000 words. I will upload it by Saturday!

Here are the options for Chapter 97 (The Next, Next One):

Option One: Hachiman talks with Tobe. (Isshiki matter)

Option Two: Hachiman talks with Saki (Taishi matter)

Please, pick one.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams.

-/-/-/-


	96. Chapter 96 The Fall Part II

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 96: The Fall Part II: Old Requests.

It was meant to be a kind of joke, a little bit of harmless teasing between two new friends. But that wasn't the reality of their situation. Hikigaya Hachiman was not her friend. She doubted whether he ever thought of himself as 'friendship material'.

He clearly didn't. Not with his attitude at least.

The rotten look in his dead fish eyes, the slouch of his shoulders and the well crafted ability to halt conversations altogether through sheer awkwardness, were not qualities one cultivated to nurture friendship in high school or in life in general.

Now, the roof top was observing a moment of silence, mourning the loss of warmth and the amicable ribbing which had taken place over a god awful bento box which tasted like goat shit. It was the natto, apparently, he had said to her unspoken curious glance. Now she was pretty much sure that breakfast, containing natto would forever be ruined for her in the near distant future. But it was still bearable. It tasted the worst. It tasted like shit. But it also held a sense of nostalgia. She didn't want to put a name to it. She was a bit grateful he didn't either.

But then the new found amicable atmosphere was ruined.

He meant it as a joke. Of course he did. But he wasn't funny. It wasn't funny. The comparison was downright cruel. Of course they were not alike. Yukinoshita Yukino and Sagami Minami were too different. Even listing the differences between the two would be a huge waste of time. It wasn't worth it. More likely she wasn't worth it. Up until this point she had achieved nothing significant in her life. She had only lost: her place, her clique, her so called friends, her standing in class, her social status.

But Yukinoshita lost nothing. No one.

She had a loving older sister. She had tons of admirers. She was good looking, easy on the eyes, feminine, elegant and refined. Each pore in her body was dipped in nobility and culture and sophistication. She was born into greatness. She was born to lead. Take charge of a situation and run with it and shine through in the face of trouble. She did not have trouble speaking to an audience. Stage fright was a foreign concept to her. Failure was a foreign concept to her as well.

Hence, she did not run. She did not escape. She did not wait for people to find her in this goddamn rooftop and bring her back to the stage.

But, she did not need anyone. Yet, she had them anyway. It was unfair. It was unfair for everyone.

Thus, the service club should not be at her disposal.

Cold reason gave birth to the steel in her determination. The blowing breeze added to the cadence of her expression. Sagami was told he would listen to reason. It was his fatal flaw. Those were the words he used. Though listening to Hayama Hayato on some occasions had the tendency of leaving a bad taste in ones mouth, for the time being it was nothing worse than the god-awful food of her god-awful bento.

She noticed him stewing in silence, looking at the grounds below in favour of watching her nibble on the food. He seemed to have realised his mistake. Stepping on a landmine, keeping his foot on the pressure plate and waiting for the moment to pass was a waste of time.

He was waiting for a civil conversation to take place between them. Hikigaya Hachiman always did operate under the delusion of reason and logic. Making sense of a situation and finding a solution to it was his go to reaction. But often times he failed to consider the bubbling hate underneath the surface.

"The service club is finished, Hikigaya." Sagami pointed out. "It's over."

Hikigaya looked at the contents of the lunch box. It was not finished yet. The food did not look appetizing at all. But he was still hungry. And this was a tough conversation to have on an empty stomach.

"Do you know what was our first request?" He asked.

He had ignored her threat outright. But then again there was little else he could possibly do without letting the whole argument dissolve into semantics. However she did expect him to make this play. Approach this matter from a different angle. Having her sympathise with the poor plight of the club and then cheer along when he narrated their later achievements was a commendable way to try and win her over. But it lacked a bit of flair. Like she said it was almost expected.

"I don't know." She shrugged. "It was probably the tennis one. The one where you guys helped Totsuka practice for the tournament." She gave a smug smile. "You do know, he failed to reach the finals right?"

"I know." He turned around and looked back at the ground. He had been doing that for a while now. At first she had thought that he was ignoring her. But now she followed his gaze and saw that he was watching Totsuka practice on the court along with all the members of the tennis club.

"So, you see, you failed there as well." Sagami continued before amending a little. "I mean not you personally. More like all the members of the service club as a whole. Your job was to help Totsuka win the tournament. It was a tough task, I admit that. And it was probably your first. So, failing it was probably not too much of a big deal. But you guys should have realised this for the very beginning that you might have not been able to help Totsuka win the tournament. Yet, you gave him false hope. You lead him on. Had you been honest with him then he would have realised that winning the tournament was not feasible back then. He would have either given up or he would have gone at it alone. And then he would have not been disappointed with himself."

After her long rant she expected him to jump into an equally long explanation. But he did the exact opposite. He gave a dry chuckle and waved his hand a bit. He looked like an idiot. But Totsuka waved back.

"Well, Totsuka doesn't seem disappointed in me." He replied.

Sagami shook her head and handed the bento box over to him. "Of course he doesn't look disappointed! He bounced back. Got over the loss like it was nothing. Like it was just another game. And It also helps that he's a really nice guy" He really was. Almost like a shorter, gender bent, boob-less Yui."And you know he's not the kind of person who would hold a grudge against you."

"Unlike you, you mean." He offered.

She gave him a brittle smile. "Yes, exactly."

The undercurrent of bitterness and feeling of resentment between them was normal. It made them feel at ease with one another and helped them act in a certain manner. Moreover it yielded results. It led to progress. It led to the unravelling of a number of truths and the exposition of a number of lies.

"The tennis club has sure grown popular over time." Hikigaya said in an overt manner.

"Yes, okay." She was growing impatient. "And?"

"And, nothing." He trailed off. "It's just an observation."

"..What do you mean nothing?" Her voice grew shrill.

He was trying to make a point. Sagami knew this much. He was speaking the truth at least. Since last year a lot of students had wanted to join the club and it had more to do with the popularity of Totsuka in general than it had to do with his tennis prowess. Not that he was bad at tennis or anything. But looking cute certainly helped.

"Then I don't understand." He spoke using a stupid voice.

She realised too late that Hikigaya Hachiman was incredibly good a pulling you into a false sense of security. His dumbass look was spot on. But he was also a second away from being pushed off the damn building for being too much of a smartass. She didn't care. She was going to murder him. She would push him. He would fall. There would be a thud. There would be a spalt. There would be lots and lots of blood. And it would totally be worth it.

"What don't you understand?" She was practically seething in rage.

"How you think we failed." He spoke in a monotone voice. "We fulfilled Totsuka's request."

Sagami was furious. She waved her hands in the general direction of the tennis court. From down there she probably looked like a lunatic. But like she said she didn't care what others thought of her now. She needed to make her point. She needed to win.

"Totsuka lost the tournament." She emphasised. "He didn't win."

"But he didn't come to us for that." He said.

"Bullshit!" She spat, pointing a finger at him in vehemence. "He came to you guys to get trained for the tournament. That's what-"

"-Hayama said." He offered.

She wanted to scream at him. Tear his fucking head off and then stick it on a pole. He knew most of her information regarding the service club from him. For some reason Hayama Hayato wanted to take down the club as well. They met together. Again, on this very same roof. They talked, hatched a plan and now here she was. However, even on the best of days his credibility was questionable. On a previous occasion when Sagami had asked Hayama where he had gotten all this information, he had simply smiled at her and said it all came down from an incredibly credible source. Apparently it was someone on the inside. She called bullshit. There were three members in total. But by then Hayama had laughed at her hard and she had stopped short from calling him a blonde bastard. In other words all her allegations rested on the information provided by a faker from a rather dubious source.

Yeah it didn't look solid even in her mind.

But on this particular occasion she had other evidence.

"Look, Hayama is a bit of a faker-" She spoke with reluctance.

"I often wonder whether modesty can be counted as a kind of lie or as a kind of hypocrisy in itself." He furrowed his eyebrows. "Or is this more of a false modesty kind of thing."

She gritted her teeth and pointed at the bento. "You made me eat all that crap in the beginning. But you better eat the rest or I will poke your eyes out with these chopsticks. I am not joking around! Just shut up and eat your godamn food and let's just forget about Hayama altogether. That will lead us nowhere!"

He nodded his head and dug into the rice once more. Each morsel looked wet and sticky. It looked like each grain was shedding a tear on behalf of the person trying to eat the food. He savoured those tears and swallowed them down his gullet. At least he was not hungry like before. Bad food did wonders on your stomach. He would get to know that probably later in the day.

"Okay, let's not talk about him." Hikigaya said while chewing his food. "Let's talk about what you know and what you think."

"What do you mean what I think? It happened in front of the entire school! I wasn't the only one there. A lot of people saw it. The doubles tennis match gathered a huge crowd." Sagami moved closer and took one of the fish cutlets. And finally, at last, something not to puke out. It looked good and it tasted even better. But he hadn't touched the cutlets at all. Which meant two things. One, he hated fish cutlets. Or two, he was saving it for her.

This made her a bit annoyed. It made her words wring out in a rough manner. "And before the tennis match took place I distinctly heard Hayama mention that it would be a good workout or training or something of the sort for Totsuka. That it would help his game."

"Yes, he did say that." He admitted.

She glared at him. How dare he! She was his enemy. She wanted to take him down. She wanted to destroy his club. Yet, here he was, being nice and understanding and also saving the tasty bits of food for her as well. It was wrong. But she appreciated the gesture. It was kinda sweet. Charming even. But he was still a rotten bastard.

"Then you admit. Hayama was telling the truth!" She was not using the chopsticks. It was a bit of a bother and she was probably sure she snapped them awhile back while she was enraged over him playing the usual dumb routine. He probably didn't mind whether she ate using her hands or not. He wasn't that fussy. But she did leave him one last cutlet. You know, because she could be nice as well.

He noticed this too.

"Thanks." He muttered while taking a bite.

"Don't mention it." She said. "It's your bento after all."

"Again you presume too much." Hikigaya replied. "Like you presume Totsuka came to us wanting to train to win the tournament. That wasn't the case, however." He paused and gathered his thoughts before speaking again. "He came to us with the request to get some more members for the tennis club because the third years were about to retire from the team." Reminiscing was a bad habit he often indulged. "When Yuigahama first introduce us, he wanted me to join the tennis club. Of course I was on board. I mean who wouldn't. He was a literal angel-" Rather abruptly he cut himself off from going down that tangent and cleared his throat in a loud manner. Sagami didn't need to know much of that. He was trying to make himself appear credible. "Anyway. Where was I? Oh yes! Totsuka wanted me to play with him- I mean join the tennis club, Yeah that one! Join him. I mean join the tennis club." He cleared his throat again and murmured in a soft voice heavy with the essence of tragedy. "But apparently that was not feasible on some technical grounds."

Sagami frowned. "What technical grounds?"

"Oh that. Nothing of significance, I assure you." He scratched his cheek feigning a look of boredom. "It just Yukinoshita thought my intentions were…dubious."

"Shocking!" Sagami replied incredulously.

Hikigaya ignored this. "Anyway. So, Totsuka wanted to get more members for the tennis club. Now Yukinoshita had come up with the idea that if Totsuka could be turned into this great tennis player, full of potential and whatnot, with the hope to take the team to the finals of some prestigious tournament and win it somehow, then of course, through his success, he would be able to attract more members to the club."

"That's stupid on so many levels." Sagami said, shaking her head. "Please tell me you are lying or something because I can't believe this actually happened."

"But it did. You saw it remember." Hikigaya pointed out. "Totsuka was practicing on the tennis court and he was doing all sorts of exercises and workout routines which were planned out by Yukinoshita to turn him into this great player. And worst of all we had to follow his routine too."

"Why? That made no sense." Sagami said, marvelling at the sheer stupidity.

"Apparently, someone thought it would be very rude to boss around poor Totsuka while the rest of us did nothing except watch him sweat it out on the tennis court." He made an amused face. "You get one guess."

Sagami crinkled his nose. "Yui."

"Yes, Yuigahama." Hikigaya nodded his head.

Sagami pointed at the bento box. "I take it this too is her doing."

"You know her well, Sagami." He replied.

"Her cooking is still shit though." Sagami said. "You guys didn't do jack shit!"

"Yet, here we are eating it all the same." Hikigaya took a bite of the cutlet to help him swallow the rest of the rice down his gullet. He was thankful he didn't choke on the food. That would be a horrible way to go. "And by the way this was the service club's first request."

Sagami raised an eyebrow. "You mean getting people to eat Yui's shitty food?"

"No." He shook his head. "It was to encourage people to cook for someone they cared."

His rotten dead fish eyes refused to meet her gaze then. He avoided it like the plague. "Yui baked cookies the first time."

Sagami laughed. "You mean burned them."

Hikigaya nodded. "It looked like poison."

"But you ate it anyway." She said knowingly.

"You would have done the same." He replied.

"So, Totsuka?" Sagami questioned.

"He didn't win the tournament. That was never supposed to happen." He looked back at the tennis court. The bento box was empty now. Their lunch break was almost over. "He did finish third though. Got a medal and everything." Then he made a small sweeping gesture towards the grounds. "And as you can see the tennis club has a lot of members now."

Sagami sighed. "So it seems."

As expected the mechanical sound of a ringing bell filled the awkward moment between them. It gave them an excuse to not finish the conversation. It made them take back a step. It was not the best thing that could have happened then. But it did happen for a reason.

"Say thanks to Yui for me, Hikigaya." Sagami spoke. "Those cutlets were great."

"Say it to her yourself." Hikigaya replied curtly.

Sagami turned around and flipped him off.

He smiled and watched her leave.

However this was not the end. Hikigaya was not that naïve. Sagami still hated Yukinoshita. He hadn't been able to make a case for their club president. Hell, she might even hate him still. That kind of hate won't leave over a small shared meal. It would run its full course. And there was still the matter with Hayama to consider. His involvement would create bigger problems in the future.

This he was sure about for certain.

-/-/-/-

A/N: So 3000+ words like I promised. And if you checked the options in the previous chapter then you will know that it is in Chapter 97 that Hikigaya will finally get around to some fresh faces.

Here are the options for the next chapter:

Option One: Yukinoshita Messes it up!

Option Two: Hayama Loses it!

So, hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of reviews follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams.

-/-/-/-


	97. Chapter 97 The Fall Part III

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 97: The Fall Part III: Bitter End

Time: Break Almost Over. 

Damp bits of soil, crumpled pieces of petals and small shards of an earthen pot halted him on his tracks.

Earlier he had been in a better mood and therefore in a less vigilant frame of mind, which had the regrettable effect of leading him down this incredibly literal path to nothing else but a pathetic death and pitiable demise.

Some might have even found it a bit funny.

Hikigaya Hachiman, survived a full on collision with a limousine only to end up getting killed by some random potted plant falling on his big, dumb head.

Of course, his death would have been chalked off to bad luck or poor karma, because, after all, it was the only thing which would have made any kind of sense. People wouldn't have thought twice about this tragic little episode.

He would have been dead. Game over. Case closed.

But unfortunately for the perpetrator, the man with the intent of causing him harm, would have been unsuccessful in trying to convey the underlying message of this poetic bit of justice hidden in the nuances of the circumstance.

And that in itself was a different kind of tragedy, altogether.

It was ingenious in its down to earth simplicity.

All it took was a medium sized potted plant, falling from three storeys up, to crush his skull and bring an end to this rotten mind of his and even if by some rotten miracle he survived, lived on through the pain and suffering, he would have to live with the knowledge that never again would he regain the splendour of his once beloved mind.

Brain damage was the only thing guaranteed and it was a fate worse than death.

The clamminess in his hands, the sweat droplets lining his forehead, the dryness of his throat and the sudden weakness in his knees moved him down the brow beaten path and compelled him to hide under the shadows of an old tree.

He needed to breathe. He needed to calm down.

He was alive. It was not meant to kill him. It was meant to scare him. Intimidate him. Well, it did its job. He was having a nervous meltdown under a godamn tree.

The talk with Sagami had tipped the scales. But he was foolish enough or in all likelihood naïve enough to think that everything had ended up being tipped in his favour. Of course, but of course, he was proven wrong. The clumps of soil sticking to his shoes from the shattered pot were a grim reminder of his mistake.

Complacency was costly.

Looking up the school building he could see the line of pots kept near the window sills of the bio lab. There was no one but he didn't expect anyone to stick around and witness his nervous breakdown. Sure, it would have been loads of laugh but he was also in the mood to take this up with the teachers and he was certain that if no one else then surely his homeroom teacher, Hiratsuka Shizuka would have taken unkindly to a plot of gravely injuring or more likely killing one of her students.

But like he expected there was no one peeking their head out of the windows. He did however remember there being five different plants on five separate pots. Now of course there were four.

Simple subtraction; worked fine with plants, would have done wonders on people.

But of course he was bad at math.

So naturally he messed it up.

Even then he could not get his heart to stop beating in sheer panic. His rotten mind and the monster of logic worked together to spell a dreary doom of his own making. The cold logic was a droll of lifelessness. It was clear like the day, the sun, the clouds, the bell he heard signalling the end of their break.

The potted plant which fell mere inches from his feet was a lime coloured hydrangea. Now hydrangea is a genus of some seventy odd species of flowering plants native to southern East Asia and the Americas. Also, there is park in Kanagawa where about three thousand hydrangea bloom by the end of June.

The park is called Hayama Ajisai Park.

Also, from there you can catch a great view of the Sagami Bay.

And all this was set up for him, Hikigaya Hachiman and had he not been worried of the lengths he had taken to unsettle him, the monster of logic might have been pleased with the faith that he showed on the extent of his knowledge.

But fear and uneasiness threw the cold steel of logic in the backseat of the car and quick footsteps made the climb up the stairs, two at a time. Hachiman knew he wouldn't catch him. Hayama was not stupid enough to stick around. But he needed to get to the bio-lab.

And he did.

He opened the door and his eyes widened at the scene. Breathing heavily, dead fish eyes not believing what they saw, the question on his dry lips should have been 'why?' But he was still not a being of pure reason and logic. He was human, a boy, a kid, finding it hard to cope.

"…You?"

-/-

Time: Start of Club Hours. 

The knock on the door should have been enough to surprise her, but she had been engrossed in the novel a bit too much and that was the first mistake of the hour: not looking at the door and asking the stranger to come in.

Because yes, he was a stranger.

Not the Hayama Hayato she knew from her childhood.

And Yukinoshita Yukino definitely didn't make an effort to know him in high school.

"It's been a while, Yukino-chan," Hayama said in lieu of greeting.

"Hayama-kun." Yukinoshita greeted curtly.

"…You used to call me Hayato once, remember?"His smile was smooth and his voice was sweet. It didn't match his disposition and it was unsettling.

But Yukino did not fidget on her seat. "What do you want, Hayama-kun?" She motioned to the empty seats to her left. "If this is about a request then I am sorry to tell you, that you have to wait for the other two members to arrive."

"Oh, yes, about that." He rubbed his chin and looked back outside. "Well, I am sorry to tell you Yukino-chan that those two aren't coming to the club today."

Yukino raised an eyebrow and closed her book. "What do you mean?"

"Just what I said, Yukino-chan," Hayama replied. "Those two won't be able to come today." He seemed to consider his statement for a second. "Or maybe they might arrive a bit late."

His choice of phrasing irked her. "Hayama-kun, tell me, what happened? What did you do?"

"I would be happy too." He smiled again. "I want to tell you about the bit of 'misunderstanding' Hikitani might have had with my friend, Tobe. Or about the thing he might have learned from my former soccer club manager, Isshiki, or from my latest little buddy, Taishi." He twirled a purple scrunchie in one of the fingers of his left hand. "Or I don't know. The whole 'Kawas-something' thing is a bit new." On the right he held a plastic bag. "I might not have my head straight on that."

He coughed and she saw the crease in his collar. Somebody had definitely had him by the neck. He seemed to have coughed on purpose to draw her attention to it. "It's good to know you still care, Yukino-chan, but it was but a scratch. Like they say, you should have seen the other guy." His smile was full of foreboding. But in a second it was back to his charismatic one. "But first, tell me what kinda ice-cream you want?"

Yukino's eyes widened. "…Ice cream?"

Hayama nodded. "Yes, Ice-cream." He gestured to the small plastic bag. "So, what will it be?" His smile was all teeth, unsettling:

"Vanilla or Chocolate?"

-/-/-

A/N: You guys wanted Hayama to lose it. Well he did! Big time!

Also, the hydrangea park bit is lifted from the internet and is true.

Also, In the next chapter, Hayama will talk with Yukino. And while they are having a 'nice' little chat, I will 'drop in' to what happened with Hikigaya i.e. explain in depth all the exposition Hayama spewed in the last big paragraph.

It will be 'fun'. (Sarcasm)

Now here are the options for the next chapter:

Option one: Psychological Confrontation between Hayama and Hikigaya.

Option two: Physical Confrontation between Hayama and Hikigaya.

So, hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave

Won't betray your dreams.

-/-/-

P. S- Sorry for the huge confusion!

Never channeling Creepy Hayama again!


	98. Chapter 98 The Fall Part IV

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 98: The Fall: Part IV: Win Or Lose.

Time: Start of Club Hours

Without waiting for an invitation he had made a beeline for the other side, covering the distance next to the long table took a couple of smart steps which echoed in the silence of the clubroom and made her narrow those ice cold blue eyes of hers to his intended location. It was near the chair which belonged to their rotten dead fish eyed club mate that he stopped. He looked at the vacant seat, his own blue eyes perhaps imagining the form of the person missing from the scene.

He was still and silent. One of his hands gripped the backrest, while the other dropped the plastic bag on the table top making a small thud. For the briefest of moments his eyes met the girl he had known since childhood and had she been paying attention, there could have been a moment for reason to take a hold of this volatile situation.

But Yukino would not forgive.

And Hayato would never forget.

The blonde haired prince had set up the stage. He picked up a cup of ice-cream of his own choosing and slid it over the smooth surface of the table. It came to a halt near her elbows. Not touching. Perfect.

"You can't go wrong with vanilla." Hayato said. The air like lilt in his voice did not suit the circumstance of the situation, but on the other hand he had stopped caring altogether. "And if you prefer chocolate all you have to do is ask, Yukino-chan."

Yukino crossed her arms while turning to glare at the impudent intruder of her sanctum sanctorum. It had no effect even now like it never did even back then. He remained completely unfazed. "I was under the impression that I had a choice." She snapped. "Or was that too much expectation on my part, Hayama-kun."

Hayato shook his head. "I was asked to exceed expectations at all times, Yukino-chan. Nothing less of me could ever be deemed acceptable. And speaking of choice, I think it was your dear, beloved father who once said that refusing to choose is a choice in itself." A hollow laugh sounded from his throat. "What a lovely thing to teach to a seven year old, don't you think."

"'A proper lady should speak only when she is spoken to.'" Yukino spoke those words in a hollow voice of her own. "I was five."

"Ouch." Hayato exclaimed.

"Those were your mother's words, Hayama-kun." Yukino spat heatedly. "It is true that I don't hold any expectations from her son nowadays, but even then you have to admit the fact that your half hearted 'ouch' is in poor taste."

"She's my mother. And I am her son. It's like the scientists discovered all those ages ago: a son is genetically predisposed to defend her mother, no matter the circumstance, no matter the cost. And believe me, my heart bleeds a little every time I hear her say something like this." Hayato shrugged his shoulders. "Ending a sentence with a preposition is a criminal offense, as far as I consider, Yukino-chan."

"Hayato!"

It was too late. She had slammed her fists on top of the table like a child and her eyes had taken in his vain smile of triumph. He had enraged her to the limits to get the desired reaction and it had slipped out. She had actively tried not being in a first name basis with him and he had respected her wished until today.

"Brings back memories doesn't it?" Hayato mused aloud. "Not all of them were bad, you know." But even then he seemed to be reconsidering his statement. "But as far as mothers are concerned, yours is no gem either, Yukino-chan."

Yukino looked affronted. "Excuse me?"

"'There are no horrible husbands in the world; only bad wives who cannot satisfy their men.'" Hayato made a face. "I believe those were the exact words she said to Haruno. She was a child too, Yukino-chan."

"I don't believe this!" Yukino replied, hotily.

"Well perhaps, my dear aunt shares some very different bits of wisdom with both her daughters." He tried to be evasive. "Or maybe Haruno lied. It wouldn't be the first time, right?"

"Nee-san wouldn't say something this disgusting!" Yukino remarked.

Hayato nodded his head. "All the more reason to believe her words."

Their ice cream had started to melt. He couldn't have that. So he leaned forward to hand her the small plastic spoon in his hand and much to his chagrin he had to watch her recline back from his presence. He tried to stifle a sigh. He failed. Yukino was almost trying to melt herself into the chair. "I will place it here then now, shall I?" He asked, placing the tiny spoon on top of the thin paper lid of the ice cream cup. "You should really start eating your ice-cream, Yukino-chan. It would be a waste if it melts."

Defeat sat heavily on her shoulders. Mechanical motions took a hold of the infamous ice-queen of their school. He didn't like it, but he understood. At least it was better than Haruno trying to drown herself in the bath tub. Even the thought gave him nightmares. Though like everything else, he didn't quite believe anything coming out of Haruno's mouth. As far as he considered, it was a wise policy.

For the time being, he would enjoy his cup of ice cream and wait for her one time friend to reignite the stream of their conversation. As expected it didn't take long.

"Hikigaya-kun," Yukino started in a soft voice. The name made his mouth twitch and he had to shake of the urge to look towards the door. He wasn't coming, hopefully. Or in the least he had time.

"Yes?" Hayato prodded the wound.

"Why hasn't he come yet?" Yukino asked.

The foreboding sense in the air sent a sharp tingle down his spine.

"Well," Hayato rubbed the back of his head. "I can't say for sure, but I think it's probably because he ran into some kind of interference."

Yukino did the courageous thing and held his gaze. "What kind of interference?"

He tried very hard not to smile. But he failed yet again. "Apparently, someone accidently dropped a potted plant on his head….Or so I heard."

His smile held the barest hint of pain.

Yukino looked on confused.

-/-/-

Time: End of Break

"Isshiki, you?"

"…Hello, senpai."

Dead fish eyes took in the scene. But the monster of logic failed to come to the fore. Isshiki Iroha was definitely the culprit. He had caught her red handed, sitting with her knees drawn to her chest, trying to make the floor eat her alive. The visible shakes and tremors he noticed in her shoulders and the tears running down her eyes were evident enough of her state of mind. She was shocked out of her mind and beyond disturbed. His little kohai had tried to hurt him without even realising the extent of her actions and now it was taking its toll.

But there was an easy way out of this. Indeed, there an easy and effective way to end her pain and suffering and drag the real culprit out into the open. He only needed to word this perfectly and it would work.

"What did Hayama tell you to do, Isshiki?"

-/-/-

Time: 10 Minutes into Club hours

"Hayato-kun!"

"What! I didn't tell her anything, Yukino-chan."

Yukino glared at the blonde. "You all but ordered her to drop the plant on his head."

Hayato crossed his arms. "I did no such thing." He took a spoonful of ice-cream in his mouth before answering. "I simply concocted a clever story to help her with her conundrum. At the end it was all up to her. The fact about the park, the flowers, it just made the story more presentable, that's all."

"'You will know whether it's love or not if willingly causing him harm will compel you into wanting to hurt yourself far more.'" Yukino looked aghast. "That's a terrible thing to tell a young and impressionable girl."

He shrugged his shoulders. "I did no better than our parents."

"But you shouldn't even try to be like our parents!" Yukino snapped. "We should try to be better than them and not just grow up into things they wanted from the very beginning since we were born."

"I agree." Hayato nodded his head. "But sometimes its feels safe to fall onto those old habits. Bad as they were it just feels a bit more comfortable."

"Disgusting!" Yukino spat.

"I am hurt, Yukino-chan!" Hayato mocked. "Though to be fair you are not the first to hurt me. There were many before. And believe it or not Isshiki was one of them."

Yukino didn't want to know. But she had to ask. "What did she do?"

A hollow look came over his blue eyes.

But another blue pair felt no sympathy for the likes of him.

-/-/-

Time: Ten Minutes Late for Class.

"Senpai!"

"…It's okay Isshiki."

Hikigaya Hachiman was the farthest thing from okay. He was bleeding from a knife wound to the palm and a small slice to the gut. But at least the cut wasn't deep enough to kill him. He needed to go to the infirmary now and quick. For the most part Isshiki had come out of her crying stupor and all it took was for him to shed a pint of blood. Or perhaps he was being melodramatic. Well he had the license to be melodramatic. He was bleeding out.

"I'm so sorry senpai."

"Don't worry. It's like those heroes in action movies always say. It's just a flesh wound."

"That still doesn't make it better!" Isshiki was trying to stop the bleeding, rummaging for bandages in the lab with not much luck.

At least she wasn't swinging the knife around anymore.

Whose bright idea was it anyway to keep the bio-lab unlocked during lunch breaks where teenagers having a bit of a meltdown could have easy access to sharp objects with just a blind grab? And these weren't just sharp objects. These were knives used to dissect frogs and cockroaches. As evident from this close encounter these little knives worked well even on your human skin.

"Look, Isshiki, I am fine!" Hachiman tried.

"Take off your shirt!" But Isshiki didn't even wait. She tugged it open with all her might in the next moment. A few buttons flew out. Wonderful! Now his shirt was ruined as well. But that would be last thing he would speak about to Isshiki at her present state of mind. He would rather instead try to sound like a broken record.

"Isshiki, the story you told me, it was all made up." Hachiman grimaced a bit. Isshiki was applying the bandages none to gently. She had lifted up his undershirt without so much as a blush and that in itself was an indication of the gravity of the situation. He tried to match that but he was a bit self conscious about himself. Most loners are when they are sitting shirtless in front of a beautiful girl. But then hopefully most loners didn't bleed out while spewing what would mostly sound like a conspiracy theory to the same girl. "Look, Hayama used you to carry out his dirty work. It was all clever word play and charm. You have to realise this now, Isshiki."

But she was not looking at him. Fresh tears sprang from her eyes and the bandages were wrapped tight to stop the shallow bit of bleeding. But it was a messy. She even forgot to apply antiseptic or even to wash all the blood with water. But he didn't care about the blood from his wounds. He cared about what Hayama had done. But first he had to get her attention.

"Iroha!"

"Don't call me that senpai!" Isshiki said. "I have done nothing to expect your kindness. I have only hurt you. God, I tried to kill you!"

"It was Hayama!" Hachiman shouted.

"It was me!" Isshiki shouted back. "I dropped the potted plant. I swung the knife."

"You only did that when I was trying to stop you from hurting yourself." Hachiman tried to explain.

"Senpai, listen to yourself." Isshiki snapped. "Do you know how messed up that sounds."

"It is messed up Isshiki, I know that." Hachiman admitted. "But it is all Hayama. It is all his doing. He told you that bullshit story about tragic lovers and the poisonous plant." Dammit! For the first time he wished he had been paying better attention to a shitty story. But to be fair, Isshiki was going kinda crazy with the knife, trying to hurt herself and he was pretty sure he had better things to do then listen to that made up story. Apparently, it would have been better to remember it because it would show he at least cared about her.

But, he wasn't sure. He didn't know. God! The bandages were wrapped too tight. It was uncomfortable. The one in his palm was cutting off the circulation to the rest of his arm. He was pretty sure Isshiki was doing this to ease her own nerves, to have something to busy her hands with, but this was getting out of hand real fast.

"Senpai, you shouldn't have tried to stop me." Isshiki was crying now and he couldn't do much except to pat her head a little with his undamaged hand. It didn't work the magic light novels promised. It was a mess. Blood, bandages, buttons, tears, and plenty of others things which his dead fish eyes didn't want to see anymore.

"I am not someone worth dying for Isshiki." Hachiman said, caressing a soft curl of her hair. The pain in his other hand was not ebbing away, but he needed to ignore that. "It was an honest mistake."

"…A mistake." Isshiki's voice sounded hollow. "That's what I told myself you know. It was nothing but a simple mistake. The words just slipped out from my mouth. It didn't mean anything."

Hachiman looked confused. "What are you saying, Isshiki?"

No response. But no. He couldn't have that now. He couldn't settle for silence now. He had shed blood. Isshiki had shed tears. It would not go to waste today. He would make sure of it.

He lifted her chin and made her look into his eyes. "Tell me Iroha." Hachiman ordered.

"…Senpai," Her voice was barely audible. It was like she was admitting to the gravest of sin. "I kissed Hayama-senpai."

Rotten dead fish eyes widened. "You kissed him?" He asked again. "I mean, you did. Not the other way around." He narrowed his eyes into slits. "He didn't force you did he?"

Isshiki shook his head. "No. I cornered him in the locker room. He was in the showers and then I kissed him. And he kissed me back."

Hachiman didn't want to listen to this.

And Isshiki didn't want to talk about this either.

But they had to talk.

-/-/-

Time: Ten Minutes into Club Hours.

"So we were making out in the showers. All tongue. Rubbing and everything going on in full force and-"

"Hayama-kun this is harassment-"

But Hayato didn't give Yukino a change. "-And then the bitch moans out his name."

Yukino's eyes widened. "Whose name?"

"You perfectly damn know whose, Yukino-chan." Hayama glared at her with unbridled hatred. His voice didn't rise a single octave and that was the scariest part. "Don't act cute by playing plain stupid. It suits him but it doesn't suit you."

"And that's all it took?" Yukino ignored his remark. "You guilt tripped Isshiki-san, made her feel like a monster for a simple mistake and then you manipulated her to carry out your dirty work."

"Again, I did no such thing, Yukino-chan." Hayato repeated. "I just told her a story and whatever moral lessons she took back from it are strictly her own."

"Disgusting!" Yukino spat.

"Oh?" Hayama raised an eyebrow. "What if it was the other way around, Yukino-chan?" He asked with bitterness. "Let's say, what if Hikitani-kun was making out with you in the shower and in the middle of it he moans out a name which was not yours. Instead of moaning out Yukino, he moans out Iroha, or Yui," The remnants of a spark died in his eyes. "Or Haruno!"

"That's!" Yukino couldn't begin.

"It's the same fucking thing!" Hayama shouted.

It was the first time he raised his voice.

It brought out all the ugly fears from their childhood.

But even then Yukino tried to be hopeful.

"You don't know whether Isshiki did any of those things you suggested. After all, like you said, you didn't tell her to do anything. You just told her a clever anecdote which might have sounded similar to the troubles she was having. And you are basing this all on, on, a number of factors and-" Yukino could see from his face how pathetic she was sounding right now. "It might have not worked at all."

Hayama smiled. He didn't say anything to her at first. But then he took out his phone.

"Let's test that shall we?"

He dialled a number which he had not saved on his phone. It was straight from his memory. Each press of his fingers made a soft sound on the touch screen. It was too quiet. Too quiet. But at last he had the number all set and he pressed the dial icon.

And then with a bright smile on his face out of pure habit, he brought the phone to his ears and listened to it ring for once, twice, three times, before speaking in that natural and easy tone of voice of his to the person he had just called.

"Hey Hikitani!" Hayato said without preamble. "I'm in the service club, catching up with Yukino over some childhood memories and you know she was kinda getting worried because none of you guys have showed up yet." He made a face and shook his head. "Wow! Such language is really uncalled for Hikitani!"

There was a pregnant pause where the real danger showed its teeth for a second. " I mean who died and left you in such a rotten mood, huh Hikitani?"

A long pause, this time from the other end.

"Yeah, well if what you are saying is true, then Isshiki might end up getting expelled, you know. Or I don't know, man. What you are saying, these are all some serious charges we are talking about, Hikitani. I mean she could very well end up in some juvenile detention centre for all I know." Hayato replied coolly.

Again the wait.

The unbearable wait.

"I'm glad you think so too, Hikitani!" Hayato cheered before mellowing out into a confused voice. "Oh by the way, Yui hasn't showed up yet." He cringed at the loud voice from the other side. Even Yukino heard some curse words flying about. "Really Hikitani, there's no need for that tone. Seriously, I have been doing a lot of good work over a few weeks."

"Oh this and that!" Hayato replied airily into the phone. "As you know people seek me out for some love advice, think of me as some sorta love guru or something! And so I have to give out some advice." He furrowed his eyebrows out of habit. "Why today I think I asked Tobe to go for it and give it his best with Hina. I mean if they are meant to be then it's meant to be. And before you say it I have complete faith that our clique will survive the outcome. " He lowered his voice just an octave. "Also, Tobe isn't the only one I have been giving love advice."

"Who?" Hayato laughed. "Well, it's kinda confidential. He's a good kid and he really likes this nice little girl." He took a grave sigh. "But as clichéd as it may be the only problem the couple has is their rotten little Onii-chan! I mean he treats the kid like shit! Like, like a bug. And he really likes this girl, you know. The rotten sister of this bastard-"

"Oh, okay, I will stop." Hayato dipped into a sympathetic voice. "I understand. You have been through too much. And hey, if it makes you feel any better the little guy is really chaste in his affairs, so~"

Hayato widened his eyes. "A bit too quick to jump to assumptions today, aren't you Hikitani. But then again maybe it's the kind of day you are having." He took out the purple scrunchie from his pocket and twirled it in his fingers. "Well, if you want to know, we had a sort of deal. Nothing bad! He tells me what his sister is like and I help him romance your sister. Simple as that!"

"…That's none of your business!" For the first time Hayato lost his cool over the phone. "And you remember the conversation we had in the past, right? The girl I liked, her name started with a 'Y'. And if you know your letters Hikitani then you will realise that the name Kawasaki Saki doesn't have a single 'Y' in it so-!"

"…You are the last person I thought who would talk about change." Hayato moved onto a new tangent. Yukino was trying to take in all the information. He liked someone whose name started with 'Y'. It was all too much.

"Tell you what!" Hayato continued to drone. "You have gone through a lot, Hikitani. Why don't you take a break and relax for a bit, look into all the stuff you have been missing out on, reconnect with your sister and the guy who wants to be a part of her life and you know…" His voice carried on in the same mirth. "…Lick your wounds for a little bit." There was no pause this time around. It was all in one go.

"After all, I am sure the service club would survive your absence, don't you think?"

This time there was a pause.

A huge, uncomfortable pause.

It was a threat in all but words.

"Okay! That's good. You are doing the right thing, Hikitani." Hayato looked at Yukino. It was the first time he had looked at her since he had started this conversation over the phone. "Do you want to speak to Yukino-chan, her being the service club president and everything. I am sure she would like to talk to you and speak to you about-"

Hayato took the phone away from his ears and looked at the screen and there, in that very moment the first genuine smile, filtered onto his face. "He hung up!"

Yukino didn't know where to start. "Hayama-kun."

"Oh, um, Hikitani-kun won't be coming to the club anymore." Hayato said. He had already finished his cup of ice cream. When had he done that? While he was talking on the phone? Yukino didn't know.

"…I see." Yukino replied.

"I don't know for sure but it seemed like he was considering quitting the club, altogether." Hayato replied. The sadness in his tone was pure artificial. "That's tough. I mean most people thought, him and the club were synonymous, you know."

Yukino crossed her arms. "We will see."

Hayato got up from his seat, the one which belonged to Hikigaya Hachiman. He made his way to the door and opened it.

"Your ice cream melted completely, Yukino-chan." Hayato said in lieu of a goodbye. "What a shame."

-/-/-

A/N: Yes! Was able to finish this today! Glad the arc is over!

The one way telephonic conversation in the end was too make Hayama sound even more narcissistic and annoying. And yes, Hayama won because he had to win at least once. But in life there is no win, no loss. Only the next chapter.

Also, I want to change the name of this fic. It's about to cross 100 chapters soon and a new name would hopefully be a breath of fresh air. So, I am open for suggestions. Send me a PM or leave it in the review.

…So, what's next?

Well, that's upto you guys.

At the moment I want the VSD etc fic to explode! Like really, reach new levels of insanity and confusion and the best way to do it is to include characters from other series.

With that said, here are the options for taking this fic into the new horizon:

Option One: Time Skip. All Oregairu Characters Out of School: Going to university, getting work, meeting all types of people from all over the globe from different fandoms. And I mean like really, really, different and unique fandoms. (Could go Crazy!)

Option Two: Time Jumps. Episodes from Hikigaya back in school, Jump to Hikigaya goes to university and meets new characters, Jump again to Hikigaya joins the work force and meets even more characters. (Could be very boring!)

Please, pick one trajectory/horizon to take the story.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter.

Leave lots and lot of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams.

-/-/-/-

P.S. - Happy Diwali Everyone!


	99. Chapter 99 An End

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 99: An End.

He didn't expect to be manhandled like a freaking toddler but Tobe was quick to shrug her off and even quicker to bite down on the curse resting on the tip of his tongue. "Sensei, you can't be serious!?"

The two of them were in an old and unused classroom in the special extension building of their school meant for various club activities. Tobe came to this place in order to hide from the others. Meanwhile his pissed and annoyed homeroom teacher had stumbled onto this place to grab a quick smoke and maybe a wee bit of drink to go through the rest of the shitty day that she was having because of a number of her even shittier students.

And Tobe was one of them.

Perhaps it was because of the lack of smoke and booze in her system or maybe it was because of her frayed nerves but by now she wanted to do some kind of serious bodily harm to one of her students who were involved in this mess and the idiot standing in front of her fit the bill.

Shizuka had listened to him talk. He had droned on and on in this lifeless and listless manner which had contrasted so starkly with his usual loud and obnoxious behaviour during class and it had led to her crushing the cigarette in between her trapped fingers. Now that was just a waste of good nicotine and she rightfully blamed him.

So, when she grabbed him by the shoulder and asked him to show her what he did to the poor girl- which led to her having a total nervous breakdown, barging in to her class in the middle of a lesson, crying, bawling her eyes out on the shoulder of her two female friends-Tobe had no business in getting fidgety over her own handsy behaviour.

"You heard me! Show me what you did!"

"Look, sensei, I know I messed up big time and I know I should have gone and apologized to her as soon as possible but you know what, I got scared, okay!" He said loudly and upon taking a closer look she could see the small tears forming in the corner of his eyes. "You know they show this stuff in shoujo manga all the time. But what they don't show is what happens to the main guy and girl when stuff don't work out." It was a small consolation but at least he seemed genuinely repentant of his actions. "What happens when the guy does a kabe-don and gets rejected, they don't show you that!"

"Idiot. It's because of shit like this that I read shonen." She shook her head and flicked the crushed cigarette at his forehead. She got a small huff of irritation but nothing else. He kept staring at the floor. Good for him. Bad for her. She really needed a reason to hit him. "So, that's all you did, huh. A Kabe-don? That can't be true, right."

"What do you mean?" He asked her, looking every bit like the confused idiot he usually was in their class.

"You mean to say you didn't try to kiss her, forcibly." She asked in a flat tone. "I know what I saw Tobe. I was teaching a class when it happened. Ebina ran in and had it not been for Kawasaki she would have smashed her whole head open on a table. Can you get that! She was crying so much she couldn't see where she was going! And by the time Miura and Yuigahama came, that poor girl was almost catatonic. So forgive me, for not believing you when you say, that all you did was a simple kabe-don."

"…I don't know what to say. I-I-I don't know what to do. Can you get me expelled? I think it's the only thing I can do to make it upto Hina-chan." He spoke up while rubbing his eyes but the tears would not stop falling from them not matter how hard he tried. He couldn't remember the last time he shed a tear over something but he was sure it was over something insignificant compared to this. "Please sensei! After what I have done I don't think I can face her anymore."

This brat! He really was a piece of shit. Even now he was only thinking about his wellbeing and the embarrassment it would cause for him when the news of what happened spread throughout their entire school. The poor girl. Her life was ruined. But this bastard wouldn't even see the inside of a jail cell and even then he was pleading with her, no, no, begging her, to expel him because, apparently now he didn't have the courage to face the same girl who was rendered completely helpless under the palm of his hands.

"Well, tough luck pal. You're gonna at least have to live with the humiliation for the things you have done." She said, reaching inside the pocket of her labcoat to grab a pack of cigarette. "But don't worry. You might not get expelled like you wished for but you will be treated like a social pariah. If you think Hikigaya had it tough well you have no idea the kind of hell that awaits you, you little punk."

He bowed his head as if to accept the grim warnings she was foretelling of his near future. Other than that he seemed to be ignoring most of her statements altogether. "…How is she doing?" Not rising to her easy baits. Huh, Guy's cleverer then he looks.

She stifled on her need to strangle him for asking such a stupid and ingenuine question. Why would he care? "If that's your way of asking whether she had said anything about you forcing her or anything, well rest assured, she hasn't! Not for lack of trying on my part, mind you. But other than resorting to coldblooded murder on a bunch of bitch ass high school girls like that she-lion of a blonde we call Miura, all my attempts to talk to Ebina, alone, have come to zero." She pointed the unlit cigarette at his direction to run home the next point. "She will probably announce a bounty on your head in the next few days: wanted dead or castrated."

"Um, thanks for the heads up." Tobe stated crossing his arms over his chest like a petulant kid about to throw a tantrum. The look would have suited him well back in class but not here especially under the gravity of the circumstance and the weight behind the words which were being exchanged between them at this particular moment. "But that's not what I was asking, sensei."

Shizuka took out a lighter from her other pocket and she took her sweet time to light the cigarette that she had been twirling in between her fingers throughout the entire course of this conversation.

"Oh, is that so? Well, too bad. I'm not saying shit!" She spoke using a mocking tone to get under his skin. "What are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing, I guess." He said with a huffy expression.

"Too bad you didn't do nothing with Ebina!" She spat venomously.

He threw one of his hands up in the air and spun on his heels before rubbing the back of his head like a neanderthal unable to produce fire with two sets of coconuts. "I said I was sorry, okay!" He repeated heatedly, glaring at her with those eyes of his which by now had stopped shedding those easy to shed tears. Shizuka felt better seeing this. At least he had stopped pretending. "It was a stupid thing, and now I know better. Kabe-dons, don't work for shit."

This wasn't getting her anywhere. Sure, she could still punch him in the gut and have him foaming from the mouth to her satisfaction, but by now a simple, run of the mill punch just won't cut it when it came to cooling the boiling anger thrumming through her veins.

But of course there was a sure fine way to get him riled up. "Okay, I get it. If you still want to hold up that silly ruse of yours its fine with me. I understand."

"…Wha?" He looked and sounded more confused than before which shouldn't have been possible in the first place.

Good. She had him right where she wanted. The trap could be sprung and it would work beautifully.

"It's perfectly understandable." For added affect she actually fluttered her eyelashes at him in a coy manner and spoke using a light lilt in her voice, even going so far as to hide her mouth while sounding a girlish giggle behind the back of her hand. "You are just scared of little ol' me."

But even going by his overall body language it was perfectly clear that she had failed spectacularly to bruise his male ego. "Well, duh! You're Hiratsuka Shizuka, the bad ass teacher of our whole school! Of course I would be scared of you."

She gritted her teeth and managed to bite clean through the butt of her cigarette and that left a disgusting taste in her mouth. Now that's two cigarettes wasted over this blithering idiot. "Is that so?"

"Absolutely!" But Tobe missed the clear signs of her temper shooting through the roof and clearing orbit.

"So you won't show me what you did." She asked

"Of course not. You're scary. You will kick my ass!" He replied honestly

"Hmm. Well then how about this! I will make myself a little less scary for you." Shizuka muttered while spitting the residual cigarette fillings off of her tongue and onto the dirty floor. She also ground out the rest of her cigarette under her heeled foot. "Then will you show me? What you did? I mean if it was just a harmless Kabe-don then you don't have anything to worry about now, do you, big guy."

Tobe gulped. "I'm still not getting it sensei."

"You can't be this dense, Tobe!" Shizuka shouted before trying to return to a calm state of mind. "Okay, okay. I can work with this. I can work with it. You, just watch me for a second. Okay!"

Tobe nodded his head vigorously. "Okay, sensei."

"Good. Or on second thought, we can do better. Listen Tobe, for this bit don't think of me as your sensei, okay. Think of me as the girl you want to 'Kabe-don'. So, think of me as the girl named Shizuka."

"Shizuka?" He felt a bit embarrassed and said her name like a question.

"Yes, like that. Very good. I am not your sensei. I am Shizuka." Even while carrying out this mind numbing conversation with him she had been quick enough to remove the labcoat covering her figure while also giving some minute touches to fluff out her waist long hair to make her appear a bit more on the feminine side. "So, Tobe, do I look a little less scary now?"

"Yeah, um," Tobe stuttered, while taking in her overall appearance without the labcoat. She also seemed to be pouting a bit while caressing her long dark hair in such languid, leisure inducing strokes. He felt his brain leaking from his ears and that's the reason for this idiot ass comment. "You look unscarred!"

"…You mean not scary, right." Shizuka muttered and he could see the scythe of the grim reaper balanced on her shoulder blades. Death knells could be heard all around.

"Yeah, that!" Tobe spoke quickly to save his life. "You look hot!"

There was a moment of silence which was noticed between the two of them in which he felt his entire life flash before his eyes and she remembered each and every word from a documentary listing a number of infamous torture methods practiced throughout the course of human history.

However luckily, Tobe was saved from a gruesome death and Shizuka from serving a double life sentence by the miracle of modern technology which sounded like an anime soundtrack and acted as the ringtone of her mobile phone.

Shizuka kept her eyes trained on him even as she searched her pockets for the damned device. She didn't need to be called hot by a damn pervert to feel better about herself. She wasn't that desperate.

"Someone better be dead or dying in a ditch, Hikigaya. I am busy." But it was not him on the phone. It was someone else. "Oh, Kawasaki, it's you. Did you find that idiot? Yeah, yeah, okay. He did what! Oh, okay you kicked both their asses, right? That's good. Any broken bones, cracked ribs? What, nothing." Her voice kept rising from then on. "Look, okay, I understand. It's cool. You are all grownups and can clearly, I mean clearly, look after your own self! I mean why do we need teachers in the first place, huh? Right! Right! I mean my time could be spent so better by getting into a nice and loving relationship, getting married to a guy and starting a family. But no! I made the huge mistake of making a big deal over you guys, right? I mean, first, there's Hikigaya fucking Hachiman, who comes to me, bleeding, and what does he do! He has a lovely chat with his friend, Hayama fucking Hayato on his phone and they play this wonderful little game where they try to force the other to mess up. Oh, you didn't get to witness it Kawasaki but it was really very entertaining. I just sat there, on a chair and listened to everything that I didn't know about that was happening around me throughout the whole fucking day. Hikigaya had the entire fucking conversation while putting his phone on loudspeaker! And the more I listened to it, the more I realised that in the end this whole thing was nothing but a dick measuring contest between two screwed up guys. 'I will destroy your club.' 'No, I will destroy your clique.' And in their fight they involved everyone and by everyone I mean everyone! And what did they achieve. Ha! Absolutely nothing! You know what, you are better off asking what they lost. These two idiots lost everything and at this very moment I am standing with another one of these idiots. You might be familiar with him, Kawasaki. His name is Tobe. And I'm about to, wait, what. Excuse me!"

Shizuka started paying attention to the words spoken over the phone with every ounce of her being and with every other sentence that was spoken aloud and taken into consideration. The sheer stupidity of this extremely shitty day finally seemed to have dawned upon her.

Shizuka rubbed her face with the palm of her hand. It had grown clammy. Yuck. "So, it was really just a Kabe-don?" She asked a final time.

"Yeah" Both Tobe and Kawasaki replied in unison.

"Wonderful. Just great!" She sounded about ready to throw in the towel and call it quits but apparently Kawasaki had a few question of her own. "Oh, now you wanna know what happened to the rest of you idiots. Well, fine." Shizuka spoke using a matter of fact voiced. "After you took it upon yourself to stop those two idiots from doing anything more stupid, what with one getting stabbed and the other manipulating a bunch of people to confess their feeling without a care in the world after a really good pep talk, I, Hiratsuka Shizuka, your homeroom teacher- and the one person who should have known what was up with you guys from the very beginning and now is responsible for covering this whole shit up because I actually give a damn about what happens to you guys and I really think everyone of you can learn from this mistake and rise above it. And also because it is tough to find a new job in this economy. But of course you all are just a bunch of judgmental nitwits and won't think better of me, not now, not ever- took it upon myself to check on how the others were doing."

Tobe was paying attention to her words too because he wanted to know what happened to the others as much as Kawasaki. But Shizuka didn't pay him much mind. She also definitely didn't feel embarrassed about what she was trying to do to him to get a little bit of satisfaction out of her violent urges.

"Sensei?" Kawasaki's voice grew impatient. Shizuka knew it was a mistake to put her phone on loudspeaker.

"Oh, yes, as I was saying. I met up with the others." Shizuka continued. "But out of everyone it was your brother Taishi and Komachi who were the least bit affected by all the chaos of the day. Well, your brother did confess to her and as he expected, Komachi pretty much rejected him on the spot!"

"Yes!" That had to be Hikigaya's voice she heard through her phone. His voice sounded weak but nonetheless it was full of jubilation over the fact that his sister had rejected a confession made by a sweet little boy.

However what followed was swift vengeance. "Ow! Saki, what the hell! That's my bad shoulder. C'mon! Your Richie Rich wannabe, over here did a nice little number on it by performing one of those brutal judo throws one me when we were having our disagreement."

"Uh-huh." Kawasaki did not sound amused. That much was pretty sure even from what Shizuka could overhear through the phone. Just like Kawasaki was interested in knowing what happened to the others, Shizuka too was curious to know the end result of their fight. "Seriously, what did you think would have happened? Like you said he knows judo!"

"…Tch, he's a member of the judo club. But he bailed out of the semi-finals and Ow! Ow! Stop that! What the hell! Did you just kick me in the shin? Saki, you saw that right?"

"Sorry, Hikitani. But it was an accident. My foot kinda slipped." It was the first time the both of them heard the voice of Hayama Hayato over the phone. So far he had been the elusive one in today's fixture.

"Your foot slipped twice." Hachiman asked.

"Yeah. I think you got me good with one of those kicks."

"Well it's your own fault for taking the psychological approach in this when clearly that is better suited for me." Hachiman replied. "I mean don't get me wrong, after failing the gambit on having all your schemes outted in the open for Shizuka sensei to hear, I was very much desperate to take the violent approach. And I know you succeeded in alienating me from Yukinoshita the same way you did to yourself in your childhood, but I have to admit, in hindsight, I rather enjoyed pounding the ever loving shit out of you knowing you won't lift a single finger."

"And I have the bruises to show for it." Hayama replied in a sweet voice which didn't indicate a single note of pain.

"And I have this handprint on my face." Hachiman replied. "Pretty sure I got expelled from the club as well."

"Well, you did call her a frigid bitch." Hayama interjected, helpfully.

"She was getting in the way. She could have been seriously hurt." Hachiman snapped.

"In the middle of it you gave her quite the fright." Hayama said.

"…Yeah." Shizuka couldn't see what was happening. She was just hearing this conversation over the phone and that wasn't enough to decipher the mind of her rotten, dead fished eyed idiot. But she could guess from the pause that he had stumbled onto an epiphany.

"Kinda like you, I guess." Hachiman finally said.

"That didn't happen." Hayama replied a bit too quick.

"I wasn't speaking of today." Hachiman clarified.

"Ah," Hayama was equally cryptic. "Touché."

"Well," Now it was Kawasaki's voice and she was sounding extremely pissed. "If you two are done having your dumbass conversation, can we get back to what we were asking before?" This time Shizuka knew the conversation had turned to her. "Sensei, what happened to the others?"

Shizuka sighed. "Well like I said, your brother confessed to his sister and he got rejected on the spot. But he didn't try anything fancy or stupid unlike some people we know." She gave Tobe a meaningful look. He had the audacity to look confused. She will deal with him later. "Anyways, I talked to them both and they said the usual thing of how there was no hard feelings and they were fine being friends for now and all that, but if I were to guess, I'm pretty sure those two will hook up in the future."

"Sensei, please do us all a favour and keep your opinions to yourself." Hachiman said through the phone. It seemed Kawasaki too had put her phone on loudspeaker.

"Kawasaki, do me a favour and shut him up." Shizuka asked, tersely.

"Will do." Kawasaki obliged.

"Ow! Not in the gut, goddamit! I have a knife wound there, you know." Hachiman complained.

"That was the sternum, Hikitani." Hayama said.

"Ah, sorry about that. I thought you were joking about that. No, yeah, he started bleeding." Shizuka realised rather late that Kawasaki didn't knew about that idiot's fatal injury because of course no one told her. "Hey Hayama, do something won't ya."

"Gladly." Hayama replied quickly.

"No, don't touch me, don't touch me. Just let me bleed out in the steps. It's where I used to eat my food everyday during lunch break and now the crows and scavengers will come and eat away my body as their food…during lunch break."

"…Hikitani, was that your attempt at a haiku."

"…No." Hikigaya replied.

"It's probably the blood loss. Hayama, quick! Get help." Kawasaki implored.

"On it!" Hayama replied quickly.

Shizuka was even quicker. "I saw Yuigahama and Totsuka sitting in a bench near the tennis court just a moment ago. They might still be there. And if you want the others, well, then I wouldn't advice asking Yukinoshita or Zaimokuza. Last I saw, they were in the service club, together."

"What?" Both Hachiman and Hayato asked in unison.

"Not together, together, I mean, you know, together." Shizuka amended. "You know, he was consoling Yukinoshita, trying to get her out from that shocked stupor you guys put her through with all that violence."

"And you left them alone?" Hachiman asked.

Shizuka waved their concern off into the thin air. "Oh, please. Zaimokuza is harmless. He's like a life sized teddy bear."

"…Like Pan-san you mean." This time it was Hayama's voice entering the fray.

"Hey, I'm like Pan-san." Hachiman interjected.

"No, you are bleeding on the steps-san." Hayama snapped.

Kawasaki sounded confused. "Who the hell is Pan-san?"

"No one!" Again, Hayama and Hachiman spoke up in unison.

Shizuka didn't know what was happening, so she coughed into her fist to sound important and got all their attention back on her. "Anyway like I was saying, Yukinoshita and Zaimokuza are in the service club. And I'm pretty sure I saw Ebina heading up the same way on my way here, so, it's a good bet to assume those three are all together."

Tobe perked up a little at the mention of her name. "Well, it's nice to know, Hina-chan is not alone right now."

"Who's that?" Kawasaki asked over the phone.

"That's Tobe." Shizuka replied tiredly. "I found him in one of the unused clubrooms in the special extension building."

"Tobe?" Hayama's voice rang out. There was something different about his tone of voice though. "…Are you okay, man?"

"Yeah, I'm fine bro." Tobe replied. He tried a bit too much to be his usual, loud and cheerful self.

"I'm really sorry about this." Hayama said and even from the sound of his voice Shizuka was certain that he was indeed, incredibly repentant over this if not anything else. "I know you can't forgive me."

Tobe waved the heartfelt apology off like it was nothing. "Nah, don't worry about it. Besides, you just told me to take a chance with it. I did the rest on my own, Kabe-don and everything."

"…You are a good friend." Hayama replied heavily after a rather uncomfortably long period of silence. "I will talk to you later, okay."

"Later then." Tobe replied. Shizuka realized a bit late that during his conversation with Hayama, he had moved a bit closer to her to gain a better access to her phone and Shizuka didn't have the heart to take this from him.

She had made the mistake of presuming too much.

"What about Miura?" Much to her initial surprise it was actually Hikigaya who asked her this question and truth be told she didn't expect this from him. "Where is she?"

Judging from the silence on Hayama's part he had a stake in this as well, so Shizuka didn't keep them waiting for long. "Well, believe it or not, Miura decided to be the bigger woman today and reached out to Sagami. I actually saw them and Isshiki in the bio lab having a serious, heart to heart conversation and I thought better than to intrude on them."

"…Why?" It was Hikigaya because of course, who else would need to ask this stupid question. "You are a teacher aren't you? Isn't it your duty to interfere in a student's business? And did I get that right. You left Miura, Sagami and Isshiki in the bio-lab."

"Yes." Shizuka replied, not liking his tone even a little bit.

"The same bio-lab where I got slas- um, sorry, um, I mean, accidentally injured myself on a sharp blade. That bio-lab."

"Yes." Shizuka replied, bluntly. "And if you have a problem with it, then feel free to give me the official account, okay. You know, the one which had you down on our knees and begging me not to tell, because you don't think it's a big deal that you got your stomach cut open by a knife and could have actually bled out on the spot!" She didn't know when but her voice had risen by quite a few octaves and now she was just shouting at the top of her lungs. Thankfully, this part of the building was in a secluded spot and Tobe had the presence of mind to shut the door to keep her voice from bleeding out to the nearby surroundings. This was definitely not the type of conversation she needed someone to eavesdrop on.

"…Okay." Hachiman changed his tone rather quickly. Perhaps his irritancy was with his wounds and not with her acting out of turn. "So, Miura is with Sagami and Isshiki and you said Yuigahama was with Totsuka in the tennis court."

"Yeah," Shizuka replied. "Also, Yuigahama quit the service club."

"What!" Hachiman snapped.

"You heard me." Shizuka said. "She said she wanted to spend more time with her friends. It seemed like a legitimate reason to me, so I approved of it on the spot, seeing as how I am the club advisor and everything." She took a pregnant pause on that solemn note. "Is that okay with you, Hikigaya?"

"Yes." He replied but his voice sounded far off. Perhaps he had traded his phone off to Kawasaki.

"Also, because you said before that Yukinoshita expelled you from the club and seeing as how she is also the service club president, well…"Shizuka left the rest unsaid.

Hikigaya didn't need a second to get the rest. "So, the service club is down by two members." A bitter, chocked laugh wafted through the phone speakers. "Congratulations."

Shizuka knew there would only be silence after that but she was not done speaking yet. "I also gave a call to Haruno not too long after my meeting with Yukinoshita. She promised to drop by to the school as soon as possible."

As soon as she mentioned this, Shizuka heard the distinct sound of ringtone buzzing through her phone. Apparently one of those three was getting a call at that very moment.

She heard Hayama groan. "Oh God!"

"Who is it?" Kawasaki asked normally.

"Death." Hayama gave the reply.

"Death huh," This time it was Hikigaya's voice. Shizuka picked a dry bit of humour in his tone. "Funny, I have her saved under Haruno."

"Lucky you." Hayama supplied, curtly. "Excuse me."

Shizuka heard a few footsteps retreating and figured that was the last she would get to hear of her blonde haired student, Hayama. Good riddance.

"That was Haruno alright! Figures, right?" Shizuka carried on like none of them had been interrupted by the call of death. "I saw Shiromeguri and that Orimoto girl from the other school, standing in the main entrance as well. They had caught a girl by the name Chika and according to Haruno, she's the one that has been spreading all those nasty rumours about the students of our fine school." She focused her question for his ears only. "Know anything about that, Hikigaya?"

"Ask Hayama." Hikigaya replied, nonchalantly. "He will deny it." Then it seemed he had stopped talking to her because his next response was for the person still with him. "Saki, would you mind lending me a hand. I wanna go check up on my sister."

"She's with Taishi." Kawasaki offered but there was no further protest from her part.

Then those jerks had the sheer audacity to hang up on her without even saying thanks or goodbye and as usual Shizuka was left fuming all by her lonesome into the silence of this dirty classroom.

"…Um, sensei?"

Oh, but she was not alone. There was Tobe with her as well. And if her memory proved right then she wanted to show him something before the two of them were rudely interrupted by this little unfortunate phone call.

"Yes Tobe, as I was saying." Shizuka said, assuming her teaching voice. "You went about the Kabe-don, the wrong way don't you think?"

"I guess." Tobe admitted.

Good. That's the thing with idiots. They had a short attention span. She would know. She dated them exclusively during one of her more self-loathing phases of life. "You did." Shizuka stated firmly. "You performed a Kabe-don, thinking it was something out of a romantic shoujo manga. But for future references, if you ever find yourself wanting to do another Kabe-don for some reason, then remember this carefully." She paused for added affect. "In real life, Kabe-don is something out of an action filled shonen manga."

Tobe cocked his head to the side. "I didn't quite get that, sensei."

"Think of the Kabe-don as a special attack. Like a rasengan for instance." Shizuka snapped her fingers. "Here, this will help. Do it like they do it in an action anime. Announce your attack and come at me and I will respond in kind, okay?"

"Okay, then." Tobe nodded his head.

Both Tobe and Shizuka got into position. Shizuka had her back to the wall and Tobe took a stand in front of her. There was an observation of a short moment to take in the sheer stupidity of this moment and then finally in the blink of an eye it happened.

"Kabe-don!" Tobe shouted, moving in close and then slapping the wall to her right with a significant amount of force while missing her pretty little head by a few intimate inches.

Shizuka didn't waste a single minute.

"Nutcracker!"

The knee to the groin was super effective and as excepted, it helped sate her violent urges and was far more satisfying then a punch to the gut of a rotten dead fish eyed loner.

Shizuka took a few more steps and left Tobe writhing on the dirty floor of the unused clubroom.

All was well.

-/-/-

A/N: So, it has been quite a while since I last uploaded a chapter but I was busy with life and also I don't handle landmarks well (Haven't reached 100 chapter yet and I am already having panic attacks!) and I knew I would mess it up, and I did, so yeah, sorry about that in advance.

Now about this chapter, well this is as much information as you will get about what happened with the fight between Hayama and Hikigaya…well at least for now.

In future chapters I might touch upon them a little but I'm not sure.

Also, I want to really experiment with some other characters and pairings, you know. And with that said here are the options for the next few chapters:

Option One: Tobe x Shizuka, OR Taishi x Komachi, OR Hayama x Saki, OR Totsuka x Yuigahama, OR Ebina x Zaimokuza x Yukinoshita.

OR

Option Two: Hikigaya Hachiman and his involvement with characters and events from other series.

Please, pick one.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter.

Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.

Won't betray your dreams.


	100. Chapter 100 A Reflection

Don't Own Oregairu

Chapter 100: A Reflection.

* * *

Context; the circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood, the part of something written or spoken that immediately precede and follow a word or sentence and clarify its meaning.

I will give an example.

Take today. Eventful, lot happened. Made progress, build bridges. Sagami Minami, misunderstood, not a good girl, not a bad girl, not of much importance, easy to manipulate, easier to vilify. The perfect distraction for our little high school drama. Met on roof. Talked, rehashed, made peace with our shared past, not forgiven, not forgotten. Fair enough. Thought made a breakthrough, didn't know for sure, didn't want to. Shared a meal, had a moment, learnt something new, something old, nothing of note.

Made first mistake.

Isshiki tried to kill me. Twice. Dropped flower pot, missed. Swung knife, hit. White school dress shirt in a state of disrepair, blood on collar, on clothes, missing buttons, slashes a few, and one shallow cut on the belly to make it worth. Dangerous, risk of infection, wasn't thinking then. Isshiki repented, bandaged, stopped bleeding, didn't really, was in no shape to move, to take the final course. Did still, fought, won, lost.

Need context. A lot happened, not exactly sure of everything, might remember one, might forget the other, trying to remember everything, trying to come up with explanations, conclusions, the final results, but I don't consider the inevitable truth which I refuse to accept even now : 'It matters.'

I am effected. I feel the consequences, I feel the guilt, the actions, the words, the lack of thought, the need to inflict, cause pain, hurt, vent, break. It shouldn't have, it mustn't have, I am built, molecules, atoms, muscles, tendons, tissues, the base instincts, cut off, subdued, logic like zinc, galvanized, the brittle rust, prevent, not stain, not mud, not blot, not clot. Ink, think, reflect.

But didn't.

Result, as expected, a loss of no importance.

But is.

I am effected.

I think, I recall, the countless events which might have been leading upto this. Like shows on plane crash investigations, like man-made disasters which ravage the land, the sea, the sky, I like others before me take the benefit of hindsight and try to fall asleep while making useless arguments to assuage the guilt, place blame on others, feel better, sleep better.

I don't.

I go back, return, relive, rehear, revitalize, take in, find context, make sense of the talks, the interactions, the moments, everything, anything, take them apart, put them back together and try to understand while sleep continues to evade me.

It's 2:32. I wake up at 6:00.

I start.

* * *

I believe. Different perspectives of the same narrative, the puppets, the puppeteers, their strings, cut and uncut, I threw them out in the cold rain of reason and made them take the umbrella. If two people share an umbrella, it is called, the 'Ai-Ai gasa', the 'Love-Love umbrella'. Riajuus use the symbol of an umbrella with the name of a boy and a girl on both its side as a symbol of love. Good work, nice job, keep it up. But let me borrow that umbrella for a bit because you see, I know, couples stick together, but so do criminals and the irony is, it's more or less for the exact same reason and funny enough, I think, truths, lies, facts, gossips, rumours, second hand accounts are all convicts, criminally insane, guilty, unless and until, proven otherwise and I shall, because I want context, clarity, sleep.

Miura Yumiko, the first domino to fall.

"Give me your number, Hikio." "Huh?" "Don't play dumb Hikio, I asked for your number." "Why do you want my number?" "So I can talk to you privately, you know, like normal friends do." "Wait a second Miura, are we friends?" "Well, duh! Get a clue Hikio."

I didn't. I walked, left, ran. First mistake. I should have talked, let her elaborate, tried to grow a spine, tried to look her in the eye, said something, done anything other than escape to the infirmary, which is exactly what I did, but to be fair, it was kinda unfair to expect the rest.

Ebina, the enigma. I, the second domino to fall.

"Abdominal pains…?" "Cramps Hikitani, Cramps! …It's my time of the month." "Please be gentle with me." "Don't joke Ebina." "Okay, alright. Place your palms on both sides of my belly button, with your thumb close to the fingers, almost touching them, and now use both your index fingers and draw a heart by first curving around the belly button, yeah, like that, now stop at my belly button and then move back to the original position. Now, place your hands on my back…below my ribs, apply some pressure and move down to the top of my hips. Now, from the centre of my back, massage in circular motions and move outwards towards the outer corners of my hip. Slide your hand up and repeat this thrice. Do you understand? Good. Now, position your palm on the centre of my back... and keep sliding your fingers down until they touch my tail bone. Use circular motion to massage and apply firm yet steady pressure, okay?"

Tch, damn fujoshi, making me blush, feeling hot, sweaty, bothersome, uncomfortable, weak, restless and deprived, worse for wear and even less chance of sleep. I wish I could chalk this off to flights of fancy, the wild and inappropriate imagination of a virgin, a despicable, rotten dead fish eyed loner. But unlike the rest, this did happen, and worse still, I remember every single detail vividly -the touch, the feel, the sensation, the dry throat- which oddly enough, tells me more about myself than her.

Elsewhere, four dominoes fell in succession, causing a ripple effects of minor proportions. I don't believe either accounts. Zaimokuza is known to spin stories out of proportions and make them seem not remotely believable. Allegedly, while I was in the infirmary, living through Ebina's eight circle of hell, he was making small talk with Yukinoshita.

Apparently, the two made some kinda progress, talking about writing, of course.

"Your latest draft was completely devoid of lascivious material, the likes of what Hikigaya-kun refers to as 'fan-service'." "Well you see m'lady, I have taken your previous directive into full account while writing up this new draft. I also thought it was very disrespectful of a noble man to force a fair maiden to read such lustful litanies." "Oh! That seemed oddly chivalrous of you, Zaimokuza-san." "Of course, m'lady! I am a Holy Knight after all!" "Yes, forgive me for forgetting that particular piece of trivia. You may leave now Zaimokuza-san."

Caterpillar Kawasaki, has a knack of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and he also has the bad habit of listening in on people's conversations which are meant to stay private, secret moments shared between individuals, locked and safely secured behind closed doors, stolen from time itself for themselves do get seldom ruined by this waste of human space who answers to the general call of Kawasaki Taishi.

But, I don't know whether to believe him. His retelling of the events sounds a little too perfect, down to the interactions, the dismissal, even the place and timing of the blush which kept pace with the rising awkwardness of the situation. I could have asked the man in question himself, but I would rather not, as knowing Zaimokuza, he would make it sound even more like a chapter from a slice of life novel.

But, believing those two is one thing, believing Hayama another, in that, I don't believe him at all, especially when I saw him take no ounce of pleasure in pounding me to an inch of my life in the the exact same place where I take a break from life itself, eat my lunch in solace, and enjoy the one love known to me which I call loneliness and it, my love answers back. Hayama knew it, knew it meant more to me than I can ever know, ever truly appreciate, ever fathom, and he took it from me, pried it, from my broken, bruised, lost, cold, hurt, fingers and hands.

I cannot go back there.

The reminder will be too painful. The place is gone, the steps, the solace, the quiet, the loneliness, it has forsaken me for this sleepless night of repentance which I shall spend in a different manner altogether. Guilt, comes naturally to the sinner, the right thoughts, often not. It's an irony of life which I have come to accept overtime. But, if its all the same, then if I choose to believe the words he said to me, which I know were spoken as a taunt, then I have to accept that I went looking for violence and he returned the favour, twice fold.

It was a cheap shot.

Lying about what might have conspired between them, those two, Hayama Hayato, the man who beat him and Sagami Minami, the woman, who he thought he had made peace with about half an hour ago before he threw common sense out the window like a flower pot meant for his head. It also painted a rather disturbing picture. Sagami Minami, the high school vamp. A flirt, both attractive and dangerous, wears tight clothes, paints her lips red then seduces men with her overflowing charisma and beauty, charms them out of their mind into doing whatever she pleases, whatever she wants them to do, like, for example destroying the single most popular clique in the entire school, and more importantly, the single most helpful, most reputable, high school club, in this part of the region.

Hayama will say the same, and everyone will believe.

"Are you not going to ask why I brought you here, Hayama-kun? Are you perhaps thinking, that I called you here to confess to you? You are wrong. But if I wanted to confess, which I don't, but if I did, then I would have done it in front of your precious, Miura-san, your lovely Yumiko." "I would have rejected you." "You really think so, don't you? How cute. But wouldn't." "Why not?" "Because I would have kissed you silly... Oh, this is pure gold. Hayato-kun, you are blushing, you look worried. Think I might just do what I said? Hmm? Don't worry, I won't corrupt you. But remember Hayama-kun that you did me a favour back then, you saved me, from that vile beast, Hikitani, and I would be more then happy to return the favour, anyway, anytime."

The reason why I chose not to believe this particular bit of information, other than the usual one- it coming from the mouth of the fake prince of lies, it succeeding in making me lose my focus multiple time, slip up one countless occasions and give him a bunch good opening to cause some serious damage and almost cave my head in on the concrete stairs- was the fact, that I could not imagine this scenario taking place, ever.

But, Sagami Minami is a new puzzle. I don't know her well, never made an attempt to know her well, which is obvious from our limited interactions which can further be explained by her hate for me since the whole cultural festival fiasco of last year, which is understandable and I take full responsibility for using my despicable means and methods to circumnavigate the situation. However, even now, I think, or rather, I thought, or more likely, its a bit of wishful thinking on my part, but I am hopeful, that the two of us have managed to bury the past and leave it behind where it belongs.

But, I cannot know for certain. These are the obvious failings of drawing conclusions from second hand accounts. I can never be sure. But the dominoes kept falling, the ripples kept sending waves forward and I found myself coming back to the service club for some much needed help in regards to escaping the eight level of hell that was turning out to be Ebina Hina, suffering from, menstrual cramps, and getting her sick jollies out of blue balling me with all her moans, groans, cries, writhes, and the instructions to keep massaging her tail bone.

That was enough to drive anyone up a wall and down the path of the service club with zero foot to mouth filter.

"Komachi, do you have a tampon?" "Shocking! Absolutely shocking! Despicable" "Eww! Hikki! Don't say that out loud!" "So Gross! So gross senpai!" "Onii-chan, don't do perverted stuff in school. You can get reported you know?" "Komachi what do you think I need a tampon for, huh? It's for one of my classmates, she is in pain over, you know,…menstrual cramps." "I don't think…oh,you know what onii-Chan, why don't I come along. Because let's face it you are pretty useless when it comes to this sorta things, aren't you?" "Thank you, thank you, Komachi. I love you."

Good times. Komachi asked me to kiss her on the cheek. She didn't need to ask me twice. I take it, she likes to tease the others in the club room, wants to flaunt how close we are as brother and sister to the others in the club room. There might be an invisible battle going on that I don't know about, that I don't want to know about, but it's more or less harmless, a bit of fun, slight teasing, an even slighter show of disgust over my blatant sis-con tendencies, which, I now know, Komachi reciprocates. After all, Caterpillar Kawasaki isn't the only one who listens in on conversations and believe me I am a master of the sacred art of eavesdropping.

"There is no such thing as a bro-con. Just sisters who don't love their brothers too much!" Wish I had a recorder on me at that time, Komachi's sounded so cute.

Cough, cough, moving on. More second hand accounts. Totsuka, Yuigahama, this time. Believed them, had to. Saw them, together, on the bench, talking, idle chit chat, smiles, blush, awkward. Wondered whether I was seeing too much. No. Dead fish eyes don't lie. But neither do those two. I wish I had the luxury of looking at these series of events as them, the wide eyed innocence, the honest conviction, the truth for all the see, the human failings at work, yet the believe structure to hope for a better tomorrow.

I wish them luck.

Those two would make a cute couple.

But no,

Life's not fair.

"I'm so jealous of Sai-chan, you know...it's just that you are so close to Hikki, you get to call him by his first name and I don't... and that kinda makes me jealous. I know it's stupid, but I still feel jealous of you." "...I don't mind you being jealous of me, Yui. Sometimes I feel jealous too." "Really? You get jealous over who?" "Over Hachiman of course, who else?" "Really, over Hikki? But why? "Because he is close to you Yui-chan." "…Oh, you think so." "Yeah, he is. Unlike someone I know."

Yuigahama wanted to know more. Understandable. She wanted to know more about this 'someone'. But Totsuka told me that he didn't get to finish the conversation because he was up next for tennis practice. I believed him when he said that. It was the least I could do as a friend, a lousy, good for nothing friend, but friend still. Totsuka managed a smile, Yuigahama did as well; I wasn't able. Hayama got me good, punch to the face, teeth rattled, blood in mouth.

It was a good excuse.

But comedies are better.

Behold! I stumbled upon a conversation no one in their right mind would ever listen because it would threaten the listeners sanity on every grounds. I consider overhearing this conversation as one of the most unforgiving mistakes of my life because it took place between the unlikeliest of unlikely people in the entire school, namely, Tobe Kakeru and Hiratsuka Shizuka.

Forgive me, sensei.

"Ebina-san was a lesbian?" "Tobe, when did I say that?" "Y'did sensei. You said she was havin' girl problems, you know? And I get it…well I think I kinda do. I mean just like when a guy has girl problems maybe lesbians could also have girl problems, you know what I mean? But she doesn't have to worry sensei, I will support her in every life choice she makes. You can bet on it!" "...I don't have the time to teach you about those kinda stuff, please leave and, and just for the record Tobe, don't stare at a girl's breast while talking to them. We really hate it when guys do that." "Well that's not actually mah fault sensei. It's just that you have very big breasts, is all."

Till now, the dominoes were falling, one by one. That last comment turned the ignition keys in a bulldozer and the poor butterflies, the ripples, the dominoes, never saw what was coming to mow them down the road. Next think I know that beast of a woman was unleashed upon the school grounds and out for blood, my blood, even though, I had nothing to do about it. It was Tobe's fault, his fault alone. But I might have ended up paying the ultimate price. It was unfair. Even then, I managed to save an innocent bystander from the path of destruction. I hid well and I allowed Miura a good hiding spot right beside me as I watched the age old saying come true.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

"I know you are out there Hikigaya. Come out, come out where ever you are. Hehe! Hehe!" "Oh God, Hikio!" "Listen Miura. I know this might be a problem, but it seems like we have to stay like this for a while until she moves out of here and looks for me somewhere else. Please Miura, don't give away our position and stay right down here, okay?" "I WILL FIND YOU HIKIGAYA HACHIMAN! I WILL FIND YOU!"

Scary times. We hid together, in the tight spot, definitely touching, almost embracing, me, trying my best to keep her head down and out of sight. Didn't think much of it back then, but Miura, didn't make a single complaint. Guess, she was scared as well. As she should have been. An enraged, out for blood, sensei is no laughing matter. The people in our school know this well and the people who are deemed responsible for making her lose her temper are often thrown into the hungry jaws of the unmated lioness as a sort of self preservation tactic.

I applaud. But that time, I thought different. Perhaps, it was a change of perspective. Life and death situation often does that to people, staring into those bottomless pits of rage, escaping the flames of her infinite gaze, I felt cleansed and invincible because of the whole placebo effect. Or maybe I wanted to annoy the hell out of Miura. Why? Don't know. Guess I felt alive, which was stupid.

But I behaved like an idiot, surprised Miura and probably saved Tobe's life.

"Hikio, why shouldn't I be angry with, Tobe?" "Well, because, like I said Miura, he is an idiot and also he was worried about Ebina. You know she was sick, right? And she had to be taken to the infirmary...well, anyway, like I said, Tobe wanted to see her, to know if she was doing alright or not. I don't think he did anything tremendously bad and well, he loves her and we have already established that he is an idiot so I guess, he gets a free pass. All is fair in love and war, they say."

Tobe, your welcome. Feel free to step in front of a truck, anytime now.

I wish. But wishes are for children who believe in fairy tales. Funny enough, grown men, women, man-children, have fairy tails too. Spun in a thin, almost invisible yarn of the softest silk, breathing the air we live, it almost lives our lives, and often ends it in a game of make-believe, playing pretend, telling lies, covering the truth. I don't believe, Hayama Hayato. I don't believe him, I don't want to believe him. But sometimes, the truth stares me down and I blink. In between our little melee, Hayama wanted to take the upper hand, he had it, but still, he wanted more, both literally and figuratively. So, by mentioning the mere syllables of a name, he managed to throw me off a flight of stairs and even now I don't know what surprised me more. Her name on his lips, or their plan to meet up for coffee.

Orimoto, my gift that keeps on giving.

"It's just plain coffee between two new friends. Besides you are really not my type." "You are very funny Orimoto-san. I'm glad we got to know each other today." "Same here, same here. And if you are wondering Hayama-kun, I prefer my men a little more real and genuine."

Tch, that blonde idiot. Expects me to feel sorry, wants a pat on the back, a kind word, a note of false sympathy. Get a clue, you tool. Not everyone is gonna be kind, not everyone is gonna be a friend. You're not special. You will screw up, make mistakes, be misunderstood. Orimoto taught me that lesson when I needed it the most. Hayama, you can't find common footing by throwing her name in our little fight. You can stand up a flight of stairs and look down on me all you want, let gravity do half the work for you. But you did see the look in me eyes as I got back on my feet, and you did see the look of disgust etched on my face.

I spat blood on the concrete stairs, I heard you gulp, I heard you take a step back, but we both knew it was too late.

You shouldn't have mentioned her name.

"Do you have any regrets, Hikigaya?" "Plenty" "Yeah I have some too...One of them is you."

The look of horror, the absolute fear, the thought that this might be it, I might kill him, kills us both, all because he said some girl's name, it worked wonders on his face, like a botox injection gone wrong, like a messed up plastic surgery, like firing a nail gun to the face. I enjoyed having the upper hand, the real one, not the fake one, the pretend one, back when he was sniveling in the service club, letting me shove him around a bit, knocking off a few chairs, pushing down the table, trying to make it look like I was out of control, making Yukinoshita see the old childhood friend in need, offering her the chance to be the better person, take the moral high ground and gain a sense of closure over some injustice done to both of them in the past. I can see it now, but not back then.

That was the point. But the second brawl was different. I took place outside, away from the service club, and more importantly away from the judgmental eyes and high morals of Yukinoshita Yukino, who had by then decided to portray me using the paint brushes of her dear childhood friend, Hayama Hayato. The two had history. It might have been painful, it might have been tragic, but at the end of the day, the foundation stone were laid on common family grounds. But now, I was the problem, the thorn in the side and her old friend had decided to help her help me. How quaint. Let's take it outside, trade a few fists, settle it like men and it was all going according to plan, up until then.

This was going to be real fight, in the sense that he wanted to beat me, see blood on the floor, see me broken and bruised, afraid, intimidated, scared and to his credit the job was half finished, I was half finished, consciousness, swimming in and out, blinking, in and out, breathing heavy, getting knocked down, again and again and again, this time down a flight of stairs. It was going to work. He would win. He knew judo. I was no fighter. But then he had to say her name and ruin his chances.

"What do we do now?" "I don't know myself. We both have regrets, we can both try to put them behind us for some kinda closure and move forward. We should definitely meet more" "I have heard that before, Orimoto." "This time it will be different. What do you say? Friends?"

Friends, I had returned, repeated, tackled, thrown, thrashed, slammed. Blonde head on hard surface, intent to kill, strangle, maim. Won't let him breath, won't let him talk, won't take off these hands of mine, won't let him pry open these fingers either. Palms itch, throats covered, any second now, feel the adam's apple bop. That's him, taking the last gulp, the very last one. It will all be over soon, you will be dead, I will be in prison.

This is genuine.

But then the breathe of another name and it was all over for the both of us. I never saw the kick, didn't even get to turn, there was no chance to block, and I wasn't so far gone, as to raise my hand on a woman, let alone, Kawasaki Saki. Funny enough, she saved me from committing my first murder in cold blood. Funnier still, she didn't stop our fight.

She became the referee. Hayama didn't like the idea. I kept my mouth shut; he didn't. Began telling a story, which I didn't want to believe, but since, Kawasaki said nothing, I had to believe it, believe every single word. Tch. Blonde bastard to the end, got some payback from my little beating. The rom-com gods look out for him, I guess.

He told, what I thought was a made up story, about how once, Kawasaki Saki needed a little bit of money for his little brother, but then she didn't want to take it from him because, earlier he had accused her of being a no good extortionist, which was completely false. I won't lie, but hearing Hayama speak such utter nonsense, I thought, hurrah, brain damaged, but then, Kawasaki blushed and ruined the whole thing.

A purple scrunchie as collateral for a loan of few bucks, that's the concussion talking.

"You are making this needlessly complicated Kawasaki-san." "Look Richie, a few bucks might not matter to ya but they matter to me. So what will it be?" "Very well. If it's all the same to you, I will take that violet scrunchie as collateral." "...Okay, take it, but look it might not mean much to ya but this was a gift from my little sister, so its priceless to me." "Beautiful, simply beautiful."

Even as he repeated those words, finished this tall tale of his, I knew he was telling the truth, because I could see it in his eyes, he was hiding something. A girl hands you something she wears on her hair, you take it, call it beautiful a couple of times and then what, that't it, you do nothing else? Am I the only rotten, despicable, disgusting pervert in this insane world.

No I wasn't. Hayama had me in a headlock. Kawasaki was watching, but she wouldn't interfere, she couldn't hear the word, I could, I did, because it was meant for me. "Jasmine." I pictured it. The blonde bastard, as soon as she left him on the roof, I could see him bring the purple scrunchie up to his nose and take a good, long sniff.

Saw red. Bit him, broke skin, tasted blood. Delicious.

But Kawasaki disapproved. Biting, not good. Tch, this is what happens when you introduce rules to a school brawl, have a referee, let her be fair, and stubborn and intelligent enough to see through all the macho bullshit being thrown around like warm piss sprayed out of a tiny penis on the back wall behind the school to get a sense of juvenile victory. It was stupid, Kawasaki knew that, but she was indulging it and I could offer the same courtesy.

Beside, when it came to stories, I had him beat.

I told Hayama about the time I stumbled upon Miura, having a sort of heart to heart, therapy kinda session with the Hikigaya household pet cat, Kamakura. This time around it was me, getting the mad look. Kawasaki went and whacked Hayama in the head, saying he had cut off the air circulation to my head, because he had put me in a headlock for too long. The bastard waved it off, but he looked concerned.

I gave him a reason not to, told him, how Miura had a good time, talking to a fat cat that belonged to us, then with the people capable of actual, human conversation in their entire clique, which happens to be the most popular on in the whole school; or wait, used to.

That got the blood pumping, but I had more.

"You know Cat-san, I think I am very unlucky, you know? At first I had a crush on a guy who was totally my type. He was very handsome and super popular with everyone and anyone and in my heart I knew he is a nice guy with a kind heart, but then I met this guy who was the total opposite of him. He was creepy and rotten and he had this pair of dead fish eyes…ugh! I mean he looks despicable! But very soon I realised that I was wrong, wrong about both of them! The guy who I liked turned out to be something I did not expect and the guy I kinda hated also turned out to be something… I did not expect. I'm not boring you am I, Cat-san? No! Aaw~ You're such a nice cat!. Why can't the guys be more like you? You listen to me when I am feeling down and you also say such kind things to make me feel better. You are really nice Cat-san! Thank you for making me feel a little happy... But I am still not feeling very good with how things are going for me right now, you know. I mean, I pretty much gave up on one guy because he was a complete tool, but the second guy is kinda dull and he probably has no clue about my feelings. But how is that even possible? I mean I am being extremely subtle in my approach but he should at least have some idea over why I am sticking to him like glue and tagging around him like lost kitty, don't you think Cat-san?"

Overdid it, went 'Nya~'. The punch to the face was the right kind of clarity I needed. Should have thanked, Hayama. Oh wait, why? We were still fighting it out like real men. Hate the expression. Nothing endorses the futility and stupidity of a situation more than that statement. Luckily nothing was off the table. Hayama continued throwing his punches, stick and jab, stick and move. It was close. Hayama led an aggressive charge. I couldn't keep up. Plus, the lies were piling up as well. But a right cross missed its mark, and he followed it with the truth which hurt most.

Hiratsuka Shizuka, the one woman, forever left alone.

"Well Hikigaya, you seem to have spent quite a busy day today, haven't you? You listened in on my private conversations, brought your pet cat to school, ignored multiple school regulations, paid no attention to me during class, and didn't even submit one of your usual trashy essays later on. So, tell me Hikigaya, what kind of punishment would you like today?" "Sensei, please, don't punish me. I will do anything." "Good. Just what I needed to hear. Well then, you can start by giving me a foot rub." "…excuse me?" "You heard me Hikigaya. If you want my help to get out of this mess then I demand a nice foot rub. My feet are a bit sore from all the standing. Teaching is a tough job, you know. So, go right ahead... what are you waiting for, Hikigaya?"

Lying's easy, convincing's hard, but Hayama had it all locked down, prepackaged and selling in no time. It was so great, so convincing, that you want to believe it, need to believe it. Hell, I was seconds from believing it, but then remembered, I was there, in the faculty room. It was us, me and sensei. We know what happened, what was said and done. This wasn't it, but it wasn't a lie either.

The most convincing lies are the closest to the truth.

Knowing hurt, knowing he knew and had power over us hurt more. But luckily, the fight would soon be over. We were both tired, hurting, bruised. Kawasaki waited. Later she was joined by another spectator, the recent alumni from our school, Shiromeguri Meguri. It was rather poetic. The worse came to close under the heels of one of the one's who kicked it off.

Talking about senpai, Shiromeguri Meguri.

"I like boys who are a couple of years younger than me. Oh, it's very natural for women to like younger men. In fact, didn't Hiratsuka-sensei just, oh never mind, forget it! It's normal. Like a foot fetish! You look the type, Hikigaya-kun." "…Well, I am flattered, senpai." "I would keep that in my mind, after all you are my kohai."

Hayama was smart. He knew, he needed to malign sensei's image for the plan to work. With her credibility shot, because of some wild rumours, and a secret relationship with one of her students, who also happens to be one of the three members of the service club, it would have been obvious, classic, textbook, open and shut, the old, female teacher seducing the young, male student. It would read like a trashy romance novel and people would eat it up. What's worse, the credibility of it all could be traced back to a poorly made statement, made by one of her former students, regarding one of her past relationships. It didn't help, that the former student, was also the former student council president, Shiromeguri Meguri. Thus, of course she was telling the truth- not making an idle comment, not air a passing thought, not projecting herself in the shoes of an older woman, a role model perhaps, maybe reflecting, seeing her future self, then making a judgement call, from an objective point of view- no, no, no, she was telling the absolute, certain, perfect, factual truth.

Factual truth's an oxymoron, you morons.

"I am supposed to tell you that Haruno-senpai is in the building and she is looking for you, as we speak."

Heard it twice now, the exact same thing, said in the exact same manner, by the exact same woman. It's been so long since I heard it again. Last time I was a virgin, trying to run from the inevitable meeting, the known consequences and the woman behind the fake smiles. Her name was, Yukinoshita Haruno. This time, I was fucked up, screwed, hurting bad. Took a beating, dished out some punishment, and now I wait, linger, try. Get my breathe back, get up one last time, man up, ball up, make a fist. Swipe out his knees, catch the look of surprise, watch him fall back down, but don't let him have the satisfaction of hitting the ground. Throw balled fist, make good contact, then throw in the towel and call it a day.

Deserve it.

Didn't deserve the help. Thank God, Zaimokuza's brand of help.

"You cannot pass oh Empress of Darkness! I, Blade-master General of the hidden school of Sobu; wielder of the knowledge of ecchi and moe, forbade thee! The light of this library will not avail you. Amaterasu! Go back from whence you came. YOU SHALL NOT PASS! Colonel Hikigaya has trusted me with his life and I shall honour that trust with my life. Do your worst, oh foul one! But your conquest stops here. You shall not be going much farther anymore." "It's not nice to speak loudly in a library, you know? Tsk, tsk. I might have too teach you a lesson."

But of course, in while telling his story, Zaimokuza didn't tell me 'the lesson', said, it was better to hear it from the mouth of the monster. Tch, Haruno a monster. Demoness, sure, but monster, no. That's me. Got a good insult out of it though. Don't know why Zaimokuza decided to inform me about that particular bit of trivia, allegedly, of course. "Where's Hikigaya-kun, Fat Gandalf." "...H-H-He's se-seeking sa-sanctuary in the te-tennis c-court. Master Totsuka has offered him a safe haven."

Zaimokuza failed me, Totsuka too, but I don't begrudge them.

Haruno can be difficult.

"You remind me of this guy I met in the library today. He tried to lie to me as well. But it ended very badly for poor man will have nightmares for life. But you Totsuka-san, I seem to like you and I don't really want cause you any problem. So~ tell me where is, Hachiman?" "I really don't know Yukinoshita-san, I am sorry." "You are Hikigaya-kun's friend" "I-I really should be heading back to my practice." "You look nervous, Totsuka-san~"

Breaking eggs, breaking people. For Haruno, it's the same. And now she was searching the school, looking for me. I thought I needed help. But after the failure that was Zaimokuza and Totsuka, I branched out a little and looked elsewhere. Didn't need to look far though.

As it so happens, Miura found me, hiding. Typical, but not the conversation.

"If you want I will help you in any way I can." "No Miura, stay out of this. I don't want you to get involved in this mess." "Well too bad! You don't get a say in this Hikio! If I say I wanna get involved then I will get involved, and, and there is no one around here who can stop me from getting involved." "Miura, I don't-" "I don't care Hikio. You will get me help! I won't listen to anyone who says otherwise not even you!"

Miura wasn't a fighter, but neither was I. That didn't stop me from going, head to head, toe to toe, with Hayama Hayato. But Miura, didn't even know who I was talking about. At first she thought it was Yukinoshita, the younger, because, for her, she was the cold, vile, slab of evil. She hadn't heard of her older sister much, didn't thought it was a big deal, thought, she could handle it alone. The name Yukinoshita Haruno didn't send shivers down her spine. That was not necessarily a good thing.

But her mistake was rectified swiftly. The plan was simple, a show of strength, a battle of numbers. One vs. Five. Haruno vs. Yukino, Miura, Saki, Yui, me.

It was complete chaos

"My, my Hikigaya kun, seems like you invited everyone into our little soirée, hmm?" "Yes I did Yukinoshita-san. Are you scared?" "Nope, nuh-uh, none whatsoever." "Don't just give up Hikio! She is just lying to us. Of course, she is scared!" "It seems highly unlikely Miura-san. Your ability to scare nee-san is on par with an ant's attempt in trying to scare off a descending boot." "Why you little…" "That does it! Yer going down bitch!" "All brawn and no brains. How boring~" "Let me go ya bitch!" "Careful now. If I hear any more bad words coming from your mouth then I might accidentally dislocate your wouldn't want that now would you?" "Enough! Let her go!" "But I don't wanna~" "Yukinoshita-san please. It was my mistake in getting them involved, it won't happen again." "It wasn't your mistake Hikki. We really wanted to help you, isn't that right, Yukinon?" "That is not a correct assumption Yuigahama-san. It was never my intention to help Hikigaya kun over whatever quarrel he has with nee-san. My purpose for confronting nee-san are very much my own. Whatever indirect benefits this vile person gets from my actions are simply collateral and unintended. "You know, for all your talks about confrontation and what not, you have pretty much done nothing except give long speeches, Yukinoshita-san." "The same can be said for you Miura san" "Yukinon, Miura don't fight." "ENOUGH! Don't you see! This is what she wants, this is all her doing. She is manipulating us into fighting each other." "That's not exactly true Hikigaya-kun. They barely needed my help to start this little show. C'mon girls. Fight it out! An all out cat fight between four beautiful girls will surely go viral!"

Thoughts overflowing, too fast, too much, can't do it, need to sleep, can do that either. Reflecting is a complex thought process. Lying in bed at night, while relieving a fight, blow by blow, which happened earlier this afternoon, while thinking further back to a series of events which happened over the course of an entire month and trying to see them as individual dominoes in a pattern, flaps of butterfly wings, ripples in waters is...difficult to fathom.

Give up? No. Not then over a false semblance of action, not now over a true peace of mind.

I regrouped like back then.

"You heard her, right!? She is just doing this for her own amusement. But you guys don't need to do this! Believe me! You don't have to do this! In fact there is a much better alternative within your grasps. Think about it for a second. In a one on one fight, none of you stand a chance against her but if all four of you combine your strength and surround her, then there might be a chance." "Isn't that a bit too much?" "Yeah! If all four of us attack her then won't she be dead. But then again, killing her would feel great. I never thought I would say this but I actually agree with her." "Last chance Yukinoshita-san. Go home and never show your face to any of us ever again."

We thought we won.

"Okay then. I give up."

Big mistake.

"Nee-san what are you doing?" "Why Yukino-chan didn't you just hear what I said, you beat me fair and square… well not quite fair but it's the thought that counts. And you know what they say about getting beat don't you. They say if you can't beat them, then join them."

I should have paid attention to her words. It was a numbers game. She said it and delivered. There it was, we had her outnumbered, it was five against one. Yukino, Yui, Saki, Miura, me vs. Haruno. But then, a wild card entered the ring and the scale were tipped in her favour, and by, her, I meant Hiratsuka Shizuka-sensei. Every head chose to bow in front of her might, even the all powerful Yukinoshita Haruno.

But by default, Haruno won.

And of course, I came close.

* * *

Haruno understands me best; Shizuka, the most. I learnt later, much, much later, that those two were the unlikeliest of drinking buddies and would often hangout together to cure their boredom. Haruno had faith in Shizuka and she could trust her to know the right thing and do the right thing. Haruno, also, loved to plan ahead and take the most random of possibilities into account. The five vs. one scenario didn't escape her notice. Thus, she had informed Shizuka to drop by and remove the point of contention from the scene, i.e. me.

Shizuka walked amidst the ensuing chaos, gave a look to those gathered in the room, threw a silent dare in the open to continue on with the ruckus, a challenge to test her dwindling patience, make her snap like a high voltage outlet and then bear the responsibility of having her go haywire. Shizuka didn't acknowledge the abrupt silence which descended. She only gave me the time to form my own set of conclusions. I didn't need a minute. I was responsible for making things worse. Thus, it would be best if I removed myself from the scene and left with her. Haruno expected the same. She also knew, the others were neither brave nor stupid to raise a voice against their irate homeroom teacher. Hence, no one asked any questions, since no one wanted them answered.

Now, when I said, I left with her, I meant I went home with her; her being Shizuka-sensei. But it's wasn't like lover walking into the sunset, holding hands, making foolish plans for an uncertain future while having eyes only for a night of sin. No, no, that wasn't the case. But it's also not like a typical teacher-student relationship. I know this much, she knows it too. It doesn't quite have the feel of the forbidden, the crass talk behind crossing invisible moral lines, nor the cheap thrills of the worst kept secrets and the biggest, most grotesque lies ever told where people run around in circles, get caught, shift blame, betray themselves.

Ours isn't a romance of sort, it never was. It was the luxury of the lazy, coming to live down in short moments of convenience, limited to the bitter sweet aftertaste of reaching a conclusion and coming to an understandings of what is what, and what is not. Thus, for the record the two of us, i.e. Hiratsuka Shizuka, the teacher and Hikigaya Hachiman, the student, never engaged in any kind of sexual activities.

Full body massages don't count -

Standing in her bedroom, waiting for her to undress, watching her slip into something more comfortable, a small, snug towel for instance. Taking in her alluring appearance, gathering the courage to ask her to lie down on her bed, to better accommodate her exposed back and bare legs. Her obliging, me helping along. My hands, fingers gliding over her skin, trying to comfort and her luscious voice, her deep sighs, her heavy moans, proving too be much for a mere virgin to bear. The stiffening embarrassment which followed, the sweet consideration she had to spare, asking him to avail her bathroom, take care of his growing pains.

Yet, the daft woman, didn't know her true worth.

I set the record straight.

"You are a very beautiful woman, sensei. What ever made you think otherwise? And, and, what you call 'young' is just another word for plain immaturity. You shouldn't compare yourself to them, you are already on a very higher level." "You are just saying that, Hikigaya." "No I'm not,sensei. Take this situation for example. If this was anyone else, any of those girls, let it be Yukinoshita or Yuigahama, then I guarantee you that they would be extremely grossed out over the entire incident and they would not even think for a second about my painful condition. Yukinoshita would have insulted me and called me names and Yuigahama would probably be so embarrassed by it that she might probably turn herself into a stone statue or worse, she might actually text people and ask them for advice on how to deal with me during this sensitive moment of time. And, and, Miura and Kawasaki, they would have killed me on the spot." "Perhaps, you never thought about your old homeroom teacher." "Sometimes I thought. But today I saw you in a new light,...Shizuka."

After the massage, she asked me to wash her back in the shower; I did.

\- that don't count either.

But what did count though was the lack of consideration as an older brother. The useless gomi-chan, I am, I had forgotten that Komachi had been waiting for me to come home back home. She knew more than something about the circumstances of my departure, the company with which I left, but she had no reasonable idea over my extreme lateness. It had her worried. She tried to keep herself occupied, tried to cook up a storm, not think, not think the worst. Deep breath, small pep-talk to self, cook curry, wait, and wait and wait; simple.

It wasn't even close. But with the faintest clicks of the door, the waiting, the worrying was over. I was greeted home with a hug, a smile.

"Onii-chan?" "Yeah, I am back. Komachi. Are you alright?" "Yes, Komachi is fine, Onii-chan...but you, you're such a gomi-chan! Komachi was thinking you…you…where were you Onii-chan? Komachi was scared …When you didn't come back I thought you were caught in another accident. I waited, I worried, I cooked everything you like, I even drew you a warm bath, but you, stupid, stupid, Hachiman!" "...Komachi, I'm sorry for scaring you my dear imouto. It won't happen again. You can let go off me now, I won't go anywhere, okay?"

As brother and sisters we embraced, found solace in a small bubble of affection. But I had to earn her forgiveness. Even though, she said, I was forgiven, it didn't felt like I had earned it. That bugged me. Ah, bugs, hate those. I' m her brother, I'm better than some bug. After everything Komachi has done for me, I had to do something in return.

But what? I didn't know.

But the answer came to me as Komachi stood, wrapped in a fluffy pink towel, short wet hair, stuck to nape, water dripping from flushed cheeks, flowing down the hollow of her neck, vanishing under the valley of her small breasts; chaste modesty hidden behind a small towel but her calves and legs open for scrutiny. She had taken a warm bath, thinking it would help her aching back, because of the long hours spent, hunched over a desk, studying.

It didn't work. Luckily, I had a better solution.

Pour lotion on palms, form a thick lather, then squeeze lotion directly onto back. Lower hands, place them below lower back, apply gentle pressure, wait for unfavourable reactions. If none, move palms, across the small of her back, then gently trace upwards. Smooth out shoulder blades, soften tense bundles the her spine. Be methodical, be rhythmic, constantly rub palms, up and down her back.

It worked for a teacher, it would for a student. Back rubs, worked miracles, talking helped too.

"A young girl like you needs their beauty sleep, you know" "Don't worry Onii-chan. Your Komachi is already beautiful…maybe not like your club mates but still…" "Nonsense Komachi! In my eyes you are the best, the most beautiful, the prettiest...although my eyes are like that of a rotten dead fish…" "No they are not Onii-chan, your eyes are…okay, I guess."

Her pains dissolved, she relaxed, drew comforting breaths. I left her with a kiss on the forehead, wishing goodnight. But handling a service club request on the same, proved to be rather difficult.

I found that out pretty soon.

"Well Saki, what's the request?" "I got a part-time job in a massage parlor. It's a business run by one of our relatives. They just need another pair of hand on the workplace and I kinda applied for it since the pays great and the work itself is not that much. But, I need a volunteer...for my practice session."

And I answered with 'huh.'

There's no excuse. I deserved what was coming to me. But in my defense, I thought it wouldn't be much of a big deal. Giving massages, getting massages, there can only be so much different. If the worse comes to worse, I will simply back off, not complete the request, no big deal.

I mean it couldn't be that hard, right?

That itself was a poor choice of word.

Massage parlours often had their woman staff wear a rather form flattering uniform. Thus, Kawasaki Saki, greeted me, wearing a black asymmetrical styled tunic with a mandarin collar and princess seams which fastened at the front by shank buttons and had a centre back pleat and dual side vents to better accommodate her movements. But the hem of her tunic which was extremely short and came just below her thighs, leaving her long and creamy legs bare.

Pants didn't seem to be a part of the ensemble.

It made Saki extremely vulnerable.

"I didn't pick the uniform, okay! I mean, it's short, but I don't feel bad wearing it." "You look nice, I mean it." "Not slutty, then? "No, not at all. Saki, you don't have anything to worry about. You look nice in anything you wear and this tunic is no exception."

But the leotard she wore next was not nice for my well being. It was a white leotard, backless, with a scooped neckline and wide armholes. Her entire back laid exposed and the thin shoulder straps traveled down to cover her bottom, while again, leaving her legs and arms completely bare.

I wasn't thinking straight. That's the only reason I can give to explain the following situation. Kawasaki gave me a choice. Go first, or go next. Me, massaging Kawasaki, in that outfit. Her, massaging me, as I lay half naked on the massage table. It wasn't much of a choice. But, at the end, I tried to fight the losing battle against the inevitable and went with the, tried and tested method. Saki laid down on the table, I gave the massage.

Taking helped both of us relax.

"Should I get some lotion for you?" "Yeah, um, could you bring the lavender scented one. I like the smell and it helps me stay calm and relaxed." "Uh-huh. Well then, I will be applying this lotion on your entire back, starting from your shoulder blades to the small of your back. Always start from the lower back then slowly make your way upwards. Don't break the rhythm, change the pattern or the stoke. And be careful while working the neck." "Ya are not planning on strangling me are ya?" "The thought crossed my mind. But you will probably walk it off in a day and find another new place to work within a week." "Not before I kill ya after ya kill me" "That's a given, Saki."

But, of course, when the tables were turned, I overreacted.

"Do ya want a lilacs or lavender?" "Neither. And I am not getting undressed for this. You can just massage my back over my clothes. I don't think I will even notice the difference." "Don't be such a wuss, Hachiman. Even I got changed into more suitable clothes before getting a massage. And I'm not asking for much. You can just remove y-your s-shirt."

But that wasn't the main problem.

"What's wrong?" "Saki, you're…you are…You are sitting on me!" "So, I wasn't able to reach your entire back earlier but now, in this position I can. What's wrong? Am I too heavy for ya Hachiman?"

Trick question, that didn't help. She wasn't wearing anything underneath that leotard, that didn't help either. But imagining Zaimokuza in red speedo, while Saki worked the knots outta my back, helped me the most. Luckily I escaped before it was too late, found a public restroom, and took care of business. And, no, I didn't feel sorry for leaving Saki back in the massage parlour, looking bewildered and confused over my sudden disappearance. I had completed the request. She wanted a volunteer for one of her practice massage sessions; I obliged.

Things could have gone worse, a lot worse.

And it did, soon.

One of the earliest indications of Sagami's growing hatred towards me could be chalked up to this isolated episode. The Cultural Festival Fiasco, as some came to call it, was a distant memory. Nobody remembered what happened, nobody remembered what it was about, nobody gave a damn. It had lost all significance in the overflowing excitement of youth and the rosy coloured rainbows of high school life.

But Sagami couldn't forget it. She was left red faced, humiliated. Her flaws out in the open, lights shined upon, talked in corridors, rumors on grounds, giggles behind back. It must have been horrible. I did what I could, but I couldn't do more, couldn't solve everything, couldn't help, always. In a sense, she was right. I was responsible for her downfall. I am to blame. I used a sick and twisted means to help her save some face after she abandoned her duties in the middle of the cultural festival and hid in the roof, knowing, she would be found.

I am sorry for making myself the villain of your narrative.

But Sagami was sorry too, for being the villain in mine.

My laugh is creepy. I didn't need Sagami to point that out. But she did, called me creepy, told me to jump off a cliff. It was the same, song and dance of old. It didn't bother me much. I have developed a thick skin. Also, Yukinoshita's insults were more cutting. But, of course, the others came to help me out. I didn't need the help, but nobody asked for my opinion. Before I could process what was even happening the combined might of Miura, Yui and Saki took it upon themselves to knock Sagami down a peg or four.

Sagami Minami was no Yukinoshita Haruno. Three vs. one was too much. But, for the sake of appearance, even though, she considered, Yui, an airhead, Miura, an equal, Saki, a delinquent, she had to put up a brave front, make a stand, and win over this confrontation, which had me in the middle. To her, losing to them, equaled losing to me. She couldn't have that, not no more.

But her loss was inevitable.

"Minami don't be mean!H-Hikki is not a creep, you know? "Don't be such an airhead Yui. If you don't think he isn't a creep then you clearly need to get your head examined." "You said enough Sagami! Apologize to Yui this instant!…And while you're at it, you better say sorry to Hikio as well." "Is that creep your friend, Miura? Wow! You have such low standards these days, don't you?" "Watch your mouth ya sissy before I decide to break your jaw. Showing a little respect won't cost ya a thing, will it?" "What? Are you friends with Miura, too, Kawasaki-san." "Tch, as if, no. I'm speaking up for lazy-ass over there; he sure as hell ain't speaking up for himself."

The dominoes well falling in a rush. I had to keep account, but it was happening to quick, too much. In that one day, one moment, one instance, Sagami put a different spin on the whole situation. I can't know for sure, don't know what she thought back then, but, the resentment she had for me, gave birth to hatred for all of those who chose to defend me. I think, it was the slap in the face she needed, to go down the path she did, taking down the things we did to her: Miura's clique, my club.

In a way, this was like the situation with Haruno. Five vs. One, we lost. Four vs. One, we won. But, this time around, I didn't need, Shizuka-sensei, to come in and remove me from the scene of contention. I was capable of leaving on my own. Thus, amidst, all the nerves and tension, the stand-off still on a stalemate, bickering going on, I walked off without so much as a nod of acknowledgement to those who stood up for me, defended my honour in the name of camaraderie and friendship. I was a loner, a rotten individual, both, not necessarily exclusive.

I had nothing worth saving.

Except my sanity.

When I left the classroom, I accidentally stumbled upon, Shizuka-sensei and I told her about what was taking place in the class, and why I was out, roaming the corridors. Needless to say, she was not pleased. She took no joy, telling me, that Yukinoshita Haruno, was back in school and she has been meaning to talk to me over something important. Now, important talk for Haruno, usually meant, asking me things about her younger sister, Yukino, teasing me a little, and taking pleasure in the face of my suffering.

That wasn't the case this time, but I didn't know that and sensei, didn't feel the need to tell me. I didn't realise it back then, but maybe, she was being careful, not wanting to discuss sensitive matters, which might be overheard.

On both occasions, Haruno had come, looking for me, because, she had found some disturbing rumours, spread on the internet. It was regarding certain people in school, some of the students, and as a concerned alumni she wanted to check things out with one of the teachers one of the students. i.e. Hiratsuka Shizuka and me.

But, of course, Haruno had lied to us. The rumours being spread didn't concern some unknown students from our school. No, each of the names, targeted by this viscous circle of lies and misinformation, happened to be people, who came to know me, and who I came to know in return.

Haruno. Hayama. Ebina. Isshiki. Tobe. Orimoto. Shiromeguri. Sagami. Totsuka. Saki. Shizuka. Taishi. Zaimokuza. Yui. Yukino. Yumiko, me...Komachi.

Eighteen, total.

I won't come to know them all.

* * *

Rumours; a circulating story or report of uncertain or doubtful truth, an unverified account, an interesting bit of storytelling or a juicy piece of news that might be true or invented, and quickly spread from idiot to idiots, across a wide range of social media platforms, without giving a damn about the private, personal, sensitive nature of the details of the lives of those individuals who are now laid bare in the web, naked in stream, for everyone to like or dislike, and leave a comment.

What I hadn't know about rumours is that, they posses the latent tendency to have power over our lives, even without our expressive knowledge or understanding. It's some sneaky level of psychological manipulation which we don't even realise until it's too late; there is no consent. What's out there is out there, and it rots and smells and we have to live with the consequences.

But from the outset, I would have realised that these rumours were not meant for the public in general. There were no pictures, no video clips, no links to other sites. Even our names were changed, to the effect, that not a lot of people would even make the connection to match us to the counterparts. Thus, there was not chance of these rumours spreading like wildfire online, no chance of going viral across social media platforms, no picture of us appearing in tabloids, no news panel dedicating an entire prime time spot to discuss our sensation.

No, there was no danger. But, where there's smoke, there's fire. Perspective matters because its liable to change, vary from person to person. What I would have seen as rumours, Haruno saw, as veiled threats to her person.

According to some random person in the internet, Haruno was willing threaten to threaten the well being of Komachi, to have me come down, falling under her heels for a lifetime of servitude. But because, I am a creepy, dead fished eyed, sis-con, I used my masculine strength, to dominate over the feminine, weak willed Haruno and grabbed her so hard, that it left bruises. It went on and on about how she was thrilled and frightened and I invited myself over to her place to "frighten each other some more."

It was a disgusting narrative.

"Don't smile Haruno. Promise me! You will not touch a strand of hair on my Komachi." "You are hurting me, Hachiman. I didn't expect this from you." "I don't care. You have hurt so many people before and you will continue to hurt many more people in the future. It's in your nature, Haruno." "I don't think you understand, you are really hurting me. Please stop, Hachiman! You are frightening me." "Yes... let's frighten each other some more... I don't think I have ever been to your place, Haruno."

People have to learn how to deal with rumours. Some try ignoring it, stay silent, turn a blind eye, wait for it to die down, wait for people's attention span to dry up, do nothing except, sit, wait, observe. I would have been one of them, but sometimes you need to take some action, gather thoughts, make a plan and plan a response.

For that I needed, Haruno.

Thus, in a sense, the rumour, even though when spread was complete rubbish, became true over the course of one meeting between the two of us in school. Haruno brought me home, she had to. Telling her thoughts on the matter in an what appeared to be an empty school corridor was never a good idea. There were numerous possibilities of us being overheard and despite popular believe, empty classrooms were not made readily available to her beck and call, even when she had a homeroom teacher like Shizuka on her speed dial.

We took the bus home. It was awfully crowded. We sat side by side, awfully close, hips joined, knees touching, shoulders brushing and on a particularly bumpy stretch of road, I found Haruno reaching for my hand. It was odd, the gesture, the touch. It was different, unusual. But she wouldn't tell me anything more. Again, we could have been overheard.

I realised too late that she was not being careful. No, she was acting paranoid, not thinking clearly, not in the right frame of mind, something had her running, retreating, backs to the wall, eye on the cage, closing in. Haruno was afraid. I had never seen her come close to being scared, but here she was, back in her apartment, standing with me in her living room, and looking at each wall, each, corner, each curtain, each window, each door, like it was violating her personal space. She thought her movements were being watched. Se thought, the entire place was bugged. She couldn't trust no one, told no one the truth. Not Shizuka, not me.

Haruno brought me to her apartment under false pretense, bolted the door shut. Now, neither anyone could come into her apartment from the outside, nor anyone could leave from the inside. Because of course, I would, if I could grab the keys from her. But, she took the option away when she casually pulled down the collar of her blouse and dropped the keys inside. There, problem solved, escape plan, thwarted. All I could catch was a hint of red lace. But it was a delicate matter. I couldn't tell Haruno, to her face, that she was overreacting, being paranoid for no reason. For one thing, she might as well have a reason to act the way she was acting. But she didn't quite trust me enough to let me know what was going on in her mind. A wise policy. But that had to change, in order for us to work out this mess before it got out of hand.

But for that to happen, I had to be the one to start the conversation.

Not exactly my forte.

"You keep keys in your bra?" "...Hachiman, have you ever looked inside a woman's bag before?" "Haruno, I'm not that stupid." "Good. You escape the death penalty. But to answer your question, Hachiman, I keep them on me, at all time, so that I can find them with relative ease, without worrying about misplacing them every other minute while I'm out in the streets. And before you ask, no, most of the pant's I own don't have functioning pockets."

Conversation closed, dead in the track, run over on the rails by a cargo train. Haruno couldn't keep up the act, couldn't retrieve the mask and put it back on her face. But she had to, because, I couldn't deal with the person, I was seeing in her apartment. To do that, to accomplish this difficult task, get to the bottom of these vile rumours, Haruno had one sure shot option available at her disposal and it was looking at her with a pair of rotten dead fish eyes.

But Haruno thrived on confrontation. She needed me to be the villain. She wanted me to be the person behind these rumours.

But, I wasn't.

The Pandora's box blew out like one of the artificial, inflatable pools, lies leaking through from each puncture in the plastic narrative and I was left to wade through the high chlorine content, burning my eyes, drowning in the data streams of the web medium. Haruno had to part with some of the truth. She didn't like it, but there was no other choice. In her defense, these were not her secrets to share.

'Miura', profile pic, a baby girl holding a toy arrow. The sweet, innocent looking account shared rather intimate details of enjoying a passionate shower with her boyfriend, 'Hikio.'

What-

"Long fingers left a sizzling trail down my soft flesh, burning my insides by their ghostly touch and feathering my skin into bearing small goose bumps. Beginning innocently at my shoulders, then daringly travelling lower, landing on my thin waist, running around my firm hips before coming dangerously close to caress my bare thighs, Hikio's languishing feel seared my senses. I moistened my lips, my breathing grew strained, my breasts heaved anxiously and I felt his rough but warm rasp of breath closer to her ears, making me burn up in anticipation.

 **'You are beautiful, Yumi.'** Hikio swore, almost inaudibly in my ears, and I felt myself blushing red and sagging into his soothing touch. His words of compliment, simple yet elegant, bore truth and I found myself forever pleased to have his undivided attention upon my naked form. Hearing him, this close, this natural, this open, made me blush and I wanted him to do nothing else but compliment her more and within a passing minute, as if almost telepathically, he must have read my mind and repeated himself. ' **You really are, you know.'**

I looked upto his dark eyes which I had once mistakenly compared to those of a rotten dead fish, but I had corrected my earlier mistake rather quickly and by now I only found them swimming with unbridled passion for me and I couldn't help but gulp down my worries and give a small audible gasp of pleasure at his absent minded ministrations down my long neck, ' **Th…thank you, Hikio.'**

A satisfied half smirk appeared on his often expressionless features and he slowly wrapped one of his hands skilfully into my blonde hair, always careful not to tug at the roots and cause me discomfort. He was always gentle and caring, rewarding me with small pecks and playful nips, on my plum lips and lovely skin, keeping his eyes only on me at these shared moments of profound intimacy. Growing weak by relaxing into his lazy kisses, my lips parted to give a small easy sigh at finding myself in his assuring arms.

 **'Do you love me Yumi?'** he asked breathlessly, staring deep into my emerald eyes searching for a never known buried truth.

I smiled upto him and gave a shy nod of acknowledgement, ' **I love you Hikio! I love you so much!'**

Emboldened by my proclamation of love Hikio dived into me and our lips met each other in a passionate kiss full of vehemence and fervour. Keeping my eyes closed, I hungrily kissed him back and returned his feelings without a care in the world. At this moment only two people mattered and everyone else could just leave us the hell alone. Delightfully invigorating, this kiss cemented out relationship and slowly nudged us to take the next step forward.

Hikio disentangled his hands from my hair and gently took hold of my knees, adjusting a little, to make me more comfortable. He pulled gently, to bring me intimately close to his body and getting his intentions, I wrapped my ankles around him in an instant, trapping him in my clutches. A loud moan escaped my lips when he bucked his hips forward upon me and he gave an involuntary loud groan of delight over this delightful position in which both our bodies were slowly beginning to align by every passing moment. ' **Are you sure about this Yumi?'** He rasped in a throaty whisper, heavy with subdued passion.

I blushed and gently nodded my head, **'…I-I am sure Hikio…'**

Upon hearing my positive remark of encouragement, a wide grin spread across Hikio's seemingly expressionless features, which were now swimming with a lustful spirit of ambiguity. I felt his arms, which were supporting my weight, gently bringing me down to a more horizontal position and within a few minutes of careful wonderment I found him, slowly and carefully, lowering his own body upon my slim frame. One of his palms gently pawed my hips in support and I sagged comfortably in his hold, **"I will make you feel loved Yumi."** he declared against my neck, planting a steady line of kisses over my entire vocal column.

I grew bold after hearing his statement and afterwards I gently nudged one of my knees against his groin, making him give an abrupt yelp in surprise. I smirked at him and reached up to unbutton his shirt, **'Let me help you out a little too Hikio'**

A small nod from him gave me the much needed permission and slowly I began to remove his shirt. I marvelled upon glancing at his bare chest and when I gently placed my lips against his skin, I felt him grow entirely still and almost frigid. For a moment I was worried, but then I found myself brought down on my back, with him and his lips, almost devouring the last remnants of my sensibilities. After that, bliss was all I knew…

-the fuck, I thought.

Creating a fake account, posing as Miura, then sharing these, so called, real love-life stories as her; that's pure evil. It's out there now, floating online. Public record of views, acts, behaviours, not hers, not of Miura Yumiko, the Fire Queen, I know, but of someone, a bastard, a troll, pretending to be her, this Yumi, who has sex in the shower with her boyfriend, Hikio and writes about it online for likes, follows, shares, comments.

Nothing about this is true, this never happened, but the people reading this wouldn't know that. There were several pictures and those were worth a thousand words. I had never been to Miura's home, never stepped inside her bedroom, never seen pictures of her bathroom, her showers, but Haruno had numerous of them on her phone. 'Chrome', had been sending her pictures, emails, text, links, posts, and no matter what she did, they wouldn't stop coming, there was no stopping the flow of information and going to the authorities was out of the question.

I looked at one more.

'Orimoto', profile pic, a baby girl smelling flowers. It was the same as Miura's; fake account, many pictures, made believable to feel real, when it isn't. But this time, there was a reconciliation thrown into the mix to make the showers interesting. I had no interest reading through the same pile of pornographic garbage once more. Reading the one featuring, me and Miura was enough to leave a lasting impression.

But, this had its appeal because of an explanation made by 'Kaori' to her 'Hachima'.

I-

"That day in the classroom…" Orimoto said "…that day in the classroom, we were not alone. When you were about to ask me out, I saw someone lurking in the corridors. Your back was turned and you were facing me, so you didn't see her but I saw her clearly over your shoulders. She was trying to be subtle and was only peeking through the side of the door but there was no doubt in my mind that it was none other than Chika Nakamachi and she was actually trying to spy on us! Chika Nakamachi! You might not remember her Hikigaya, but she was also with us in our class back in middle school and she also tagged along with us in that stupid double date with Hayama Hayato! She hasn't changed at all, I tell you! She is still that same girl, you know, spreading false rumours, making stuff up and telling nonsensical lies. She used to pick on you and bother you all the time back in middle school but during that double date she goaded me to make fun of you as well so she could score brownie points with Hayama! What a pathetic loser!" Orimoto groused in self loathing, "But I am still friends with her anyway because I am just afraid of making her angry and that same fear made me reject you on that fateful day! I saw Chika and I panicked. I was thinking more about the rumours that she would spread if I said 'yes' to your confession and I knew that she had the power to ruin my reputation…and…and…and…that's why I rejected you in such a brutal way!" Orimoto sobbed. "And then the very next day, as expected, she spread all those terrible rumours about your rejection and turned you into a laughing stock for the whole school! Everyone made fun of you and I hated them so very much but I just stood back and did nothing because I was afraid and I thought it was probably for the best because… I thought…I thought… a girl like me would never be happy with a guy like you." Orimoto pulled away. "But later on I realised it was the other way around." Orimoto looked him right in the eye, "A guy like you would never be happy with a girl like me."

-can't take this.

Minds plays tricks, tries to make sense of a situation, helps make connection, lets us see things as we think. But this is not helping. The story is shared by an impostor, this is not Orimoto. Even the fake profile is under the name 'Kaori' and that's a common name. But mind take pity and let's me have this moment. I can't read this without altering the names. Kaori is Orimoto, what is Chika, is Chika Nakamachi, what is Hayato, is Hayama. I can't read this, without reading the names as it were meant to be.

I can't help it.

In the same way, telling myself now, that I knew this all along, is giving me too much credit. Back when we were in middle school, these rumours were spread by one of Orimoto's friend, Chika Nakamachi, a girl who hated me with the vengeance of hell. I had my doubts, but reading this, even though I know the rest of it is untrue, I can't help but which for this one small fact to be true. Orimoto and I didn't reconcile in the shower, we didn't forgive each other, owned up to our mistakes, none of this happened. But I want the Chika Nakamachi bit, about spreading rumours to be true.

It's foolish, idiotic, I should know better, but that's the thing with rumours. It's effective because you want to believe them and that's what makes them most dangerous.

Last time, Orimoto and I met, we talked about regrets, and we decided to move forward as friends. This bit on the internet was taking too much creative liberties with our little meeting. But it makes on thing clear. Whoever is behind this is incredibly resourceful and he has us under watch when we don't even know where to look.

Haruno showed me one more.

'Isshiki', profile pic, a quote from a poem. I recognized it. It was from the Heian era. This fake account was a shoddy work at best. Probably the person behind this was getting bored, losing interest. Or perhaps, it had to deal with what little personal tidbit it shared. To my surprise, this one was not about me, at least, one wouldn't get that from skimming through the page. No, this one was about how a foxy kohai, cornering her beloved senpai, in the locker showers, and seducing him with her feminine wiles. But despite the usual crude nature, this one took one step further. During one heated, passionate moment, everything turned south.

"Say my name, Iroha." "Ha-Hachima~"

But this wasn't a fake story on a fake account was about me and Iroha. No, this was about a cool, soccer club senpai name 'Hayato' and his foxy, soccer club, kohai, Iroha. I know Isshiki quit managing the soccer club, in favour of her student council duties, but it still stung, especially reading the aftermath, where the senpai turned violent and physically threw the kohai out, hurting her, injuring her, causing her pain.

I didn't want this to be true either. I didn't want none of the rumours to be true. But, I also know, their had to be a sliver of a truth to park the silver of doubt in the minds at work and it was working. And I was right, despite wishing I wasn't, not on about this, not on this case.

During my fight with Hayama today, while he cut lose and had the upper hand over me, he began telling me the exact same story, as a way of justifying himself and the things he did. I can't trust a word out of his mouth, but remembering this now, putting it in the context, joining the dots, I feel like drifting into the space left unknown, under the watchful eyes of the unseen. Between my physical confrontation with Hayama, and the talks I had with Haruno, I find like someone is laughing at me, at us, those in the know, and effected by these viscous rumours. On most occasions, God would be the one I accused. But no, God has a fun sense of humour. No, this was a definitely one of his creations, human beings, with a sick sense of humour.

I believe such and I was proven right. But not before I looked through the worst and inevitable ended up hurting myself in the process, causing irreparable damage, which led to a massive error in judgement. Haruno called me the monster of a logic for a reason, but without logic, without reason, I would be just a monster and there are plenty of those in the world. But that's what I became over time.

I wish I could blame this on Haruno; I don't. From the beginning I knew this would all come back to her. It was worse than what I feared or ever expected. Haruno wasn't taking well it well. Her cellphone was being bombarded with an overflowing stream of information which wasn't warranted nor desired in the least. She had no interest in the love lives of people, she didn't know or come to care about. She didn't waste her time, wondering whether these were true or not. But her cellphone was taken over, held hostage and that was unacceptable. But she came to regret the alternative as later she was the one taken hostage, by her phone, and that was downright frightening.

The rumours on Haruno were the worst. What made them the worse was the fact that I remain undecided on labeling them as rumours. A riddle was in the making. What is rumour when it is not a rumour? Answer, I don't know. But I do know what it isn't. It isn't the truth, it isn't the lie. It is, but it isn't and that's what's makes it the worst of the worst. I would come to know Haruno on various levels. It was like excavating a buried civilisation, seeing the ruins, then imagining the glory of past ideals, visualised, categorised, compartmentalised: the artificialties, the musings, the touch, the mask, the surprise, the loss, the world, the confession, the comforts, the choice. The bubbles beneath, the penultimate play, the dreams eternal, the collapse of identities, the love of pain, and the pain of remembering the others; I didn't know where the truth begins, when the lies end. I don't know how the lies end, why the truth begins. I am not the right kind of person to have on your side in a moment of crisis. Haruno knew that. But beggars can't be choosers, coping mechanisms differ, mistakes taken in fear can be cherished, and a moment of weakness can tap into buried strengths.

The artificialties behind me being the culprit, the one spreading the rumours was dealt first. Fear, hatred, a violation of privacy, a betrayal of trust, it was all thrown out in accusations made convincing in hysterics.

I had never seen, Haruno like this.

"You are lying, Hachiman." "No I'm not. Not about this." "You really want me to believe that?" "Nothing is more dangerous than a misunderstanding. What can I do to make you believe me, Haruno-san?" "Then complete your thought, Hachiman. Leave nothing unsaid, tell me everything. You don't realise how you do it, do you? You delude girls, mislead them without even knowing. Like Yukino-chan, like Gahama-chan, perhaps many more. You have an unusual way with words, Hachiman. You have no idea how much your words mean to some girls. You should be careful, Hachiman."

The musings behind her shivers came to focus. Haruno was paranoid, but I didn't know to what extent. Cold, afraid, alone in her private apartment, yet living with only the illusion of privacy. She was at the mercy of someone's mental whim, the mercy of a pendulum swinging from boredom to interest. This was making her nerves volatile. She was not in the right frame of mind, she was acting strange, she was not making sense, the shivers were from an unknown, unseen threat.

This was not the Haruno, I know.

"Are you really feeling cold Haruno-san?" "Are you offering to keep me warm, Hachiman?" "A blanket would be far better, Haruno-san." "I have a better idea. Come closer, Hachiman." "I have very sensitive ears, Haruno-san. I can hear whatever you say from over here." "Well then, shall I put your ears to a test, Hachiman?"

She did; I failed, miserably. The words 'undress me' was whispered, the distance between us was closed in a swift tackle and the sofa behind us cushioned our fall. When, Haruno, got the desired result from milking this advantage, she sat right beside me, then moved even closer, having me cornered against the arms of the sofa. If I tried scooting away, I would probably end up falling from the sofa and landing face first on the marble floor.

Haruno hadn't showed me the rumours about her, yet. I had no idea behind the thinking which went with her questions.

I didn't know we were running parallel conversations.

"Do you think we will end up having sex? I'm sapiosexual, Hachiman. " "... Haruno-san? Is that your way of saying I'm stupid?" "Hush, is this your first time?" "First time?" "Yes Hachiman; is this your first kiss?" "...No" "No? You mean you have kissed someone before." "Yes." "Was it Yukino-chan?" "...No" "Was it Gahama-chan?" "...No. And that's not her name. Why do you care Haruno-san?" "Who says I care. I'm just curious. Was it that clingy kohai of yours?" "No" "It wasn't Hayama-kun, was it?" "What? No! Hell no! It wasn't Hayama." "Thank God! How about Meguri?" "Nope! We were not even that close." "Oh it doesn't bother her. Besides she likes young ones. I should know. I was her senpai. What about that fujoshi? She looks cute." "…not kissing." "So something more?" "…N-no." "You are blushing, Hachiman." "…It's not what you think, Haruno-san." "Oh, then will you tell me what it is." "...It all started with Miura." "The one who likes Hayama-kun, correct. Jealous?" "Huh?" "Well, obviously not then." "Huh?"

Haruno didn't give me a chance to breath, but the quickness in certain replies, made her aware of my innocence. Innocence was celebrated with drinks, bottle of wine, glass goblets. But truth be told, alcohol was a bad idea. After our long conversation, Haruno was satisfied about a few things and such satisfactions lead to one of three things.

For Haruno, boldness came first.

"Haruno-san, you seem to have forgotten an apparel of clothing." "I hope you don't mind. I felt like slipping into some more comfortable pieces of clothing." "Piece; singular, you mean." "No, I don't. You should get comfortable as well." "Haruno-san?" "This comes off!"

Haruno wasn't wearing a bra. Bare breasts looking bigger, best optical illusion ever, covered only in the soft cotton fabric of her sweatshirt, nipples hard. She went inside to fetch drinks, came back wearing a grey sweatshirt, not pants, her thighs and legs left bare. Then, two drinks in, liquid courage in veins, mischief in eyes, deaf to half hearted protests, she brushed her lips with mine, making quick work of the buttons, turning her fears into strength.

A mistaken moment of weakness, where alcohol poured, nips, pecks, kisses, down throats. One glass, a half filled bottle, soon to empty good sense and leave while talking slurred, making no sense, except the comforts of drunken mistakes, one called love.

"We should celebrate us being less us, a little more someone else, you know what I mean, don't you?" "What is there to celebrate? I haven't done anything yet, Haruno." "You have been successful in proving me your innocence. That's admirable, Hachiman. Maybe no one was kind enough to offer you a glass in the past, But I'm offering you a taste. It would be horrible to waste such a good drink, don't you think?" "Given our state of…whatever this is, I think it's a bad idea. I might say something that can't be taken back. I might end up doing something too. It's not safe, Haruno." "I will work to keep mouth shut, kiss away." "We have only one glass, Haruno." "If we were in love, Drinking from the same glass would have been so romantic." "Good thing, we are not in love then." "Yes, it's a good thing. Now stop talking and kiss me."

Sloppy kisses led to hasty make out sessions on the sofa and before long we took matters to her bedroom, then her bathtub. Neither of us were virgins, we were both screwed over by life. The problem, we didn't the extent of our damage, the baggage in our minds. Haruno wore a mask, and I looked with my eyes. It was bound to end in disaster. Haruno didn't trust me with the rumours surrounding her. That meant one thing, some of the rumours on her might turn out to be true and she was afraid and felt threatened because she was helpless in the face of the unknown and the nameless. We had sex, once. It doesn't mean she has to trust me. Liars don't trust other liars. We know better, we are not idiots.

Haruno would do the next best thing.

She would try to drown herself in her bathtub.

"What were you thinking!?"

"I wanted to know whether or not this was a dream. Me, inviting you to my apartment and you, coming in. Me, kissing you and you, kissing me back. Me, allowing you into my bed, my private sanctum, where I take a break, where I am only Haruno and not HER; and you followed me. It's like a beautiful, wonderful, dream, where only good things keep happening to me and I love every bit of it. But a dream is just that; a dream. And despite how good it is, how good it can be, there is one thing it can never be- Real. But, I wanted this to be real, so very real and that's why I had to check. I had to prove to myself that everything that has been happening to me is really happening to me. I wanted evidence of my own existence. I wanted to feel alive! So, I had to die. One can truly know they are alive when they are about to die. The sheer fear alone helps you know and then there is the need to call the name of someone you care for, for the last time. I knew I was dying, I knew I was drowning and so I knew I was alive and that this was not a dream."

"That's crazy, Haruno. I could have already told you that this was not a dream. You didn't have to drown yourself to know that."

"You may think so, Hachiman. But now I know for certain that it wasn't a dream."

"How do you know?"

"Because in my dreams I drown and no one comes to save me."

"That sounds more like a nightmare, Haruno."

"Are there any other kinds of dream, Hachiman?"

Conversation came to a grinding halt. I was working out the nerve to tell a horrible joke, about how I was so bad in bed, that even the great Haruno had thought of committing suicide by drowning in her own bathtub. But I never got the chance. Haruno told me a joke of her own. It was loads of laugh. You see, she was so certain, that I was the creep, behind spreading these vile rumours, that she had decided to catch me red handed. Bringing me home, acting out one of the fantasies, dressing up as in one of the stories, then waiting for me to fumble up, disclose something incriminating and have me arrested with one call. Haruno had thought, the creep would be into role play, with all the fake accounts and the impersonations. So the chances of me repeating a dialogue, word for word, was more than half likely to happen, knowing my intelligence. When, that failed, she tried the alternative, starting a fantasy involving her, but not going all the way. I would give her cues, direct her actions, try to control the scene and that would be enough to send me to jail. But it didn't work. She had shone me the fake accounts of the other girls, their shared stories, to make me worried, fidgety, tensed. But my actions spoke my innocence and even though, Haruno, didn't quite believe me, until there was one last play and that involved alcohol and a drunken confession.

That didn't work as well, but, according to her, sex was never a part of the equation. It happened, because alcohol and nerves make a mean cocktail. Like I said, good joke, loads of laugh, ha ha. Haruno gave a choice, to laugh or to cry. She was being generous. I didn't know to what extent until she came bursting into the living room, nightwear on wet skin, morning on curtains, look of defiance in eyes, guilt per blink.

But the blood red fabric of her satin, sweet baby doll outfit, barely, reached past her hips. The embroidery design, splayed on the hemline, completely see-through, crawled upwards like slithering serpents -offering the forbidden fruit, nestled deep between her glorious thighs; the fatal temptation for any man- at even the barest jostle of her gorgeous legs. The naïve bow, sitting prettily, between the valley of her ample breasts, offered, more than generous view of her cleavage- made entirely of lace- not knowing, that it can be undone, by a simple flick of a few skillful fingers.

I didn't know what to expect. Did she expect us to have sex? Is this called make up sex? She thought I was a cyber stalker, spreading false rumours about a group of people on the internet and then subjecting her to the mental torture of have to shift through those pages of vile and filth every time she touches her cellphone. But, I wasn't and even though she went to extreme lengths to prove, it was me, my innocence was to much to overlook, even for her. But no, that wasn't enough. She wanted to get me drunk and confess to a crime I didn't commit. Not thinking straight. Then, we had sex. But, it wasn't part of the plan. No, it happened, naturally. Sure, I believe you. And the drowning and the sex outfit?

I didn't get to ask Haruno that much. My phone buzzed, before I could get word in. I received an email. In fact, I had been received a lot more than just emails. Haruno tried to control her tears. She had come out of drowning, gotten dressed in that skimpy nightwear outfit to prove a point, I knew this much. The rest, I got from the attachments to the email. The sender was called, 'Chrome.' Good thing I don't believe his first name is Google. But, before checking out some of the other stuff, I clicked on an image and waited for it to load. I did and it was a picture of the same baby doll outfit Haruno was wearing now. But, it wasn't an ad from sexy lingerie. No, I looked at the background. This was clicked here, in her bedroom, the outfit taken from her wardrobe, then splayed on her bed, too make it look more real; genuine.

I never thought I would come to hate the word. But someone had sent me a folder titled, 'Haruno, the ideal woman, with fake smiles and suicidal tendencies.'

I could learn to live with the hate as I do now with the truth.

* * *

The stuff on Haruno was the worst, but reading them would be a waste of time. She had tried to reenact them, and the drowning in the bath tub, yeah, it was true. I trust my eyes and senses, and it went with the whole paranoia and feeling threatened vibes, I was constantly getting from her, throughout the entire course of our little mistake. Haruno felt threatened by the rumours, because they were true. It would leave her exposed, the ideal image of hers will be destroyed, her family would disown her. I kinda hated her now, and for good reason, but I wouldn't wish that fate on anyone. Maybe, Hayama. Hey, I never said I was a saint, don't let this eyes fool you, oh wait, they don't. They make me look like a generic cyber stalker. Good to know. Now I won't feel bad reading the others ones. In comparison, the ones one the others were tame.

I read a few on Shizuka and me. Valentines day chocolate between teacher and student. How sensuous. But it wasn't. In fact, it was rather, should I dare it, fluffy. But that's where people make the mistake of being to forgiving. Just because it's not bad, it doesn't cause damage, doesn't means it's okay. Sensei, could still get in some serious trouble, lose her job and everything. Because, of the story like format to these, real life stories, it's even worse.

The dialogue was believable-

"I brought chocolates. But, um they got squashed. Yeah, here take a look. Funny story actually. Haha! What happened was, I sat on them. It was an accident. I worked on them all night. Stupid chocolate wouldn't melt properly. I had to make another batch. Anyway, I finally did it. After midnight, they were ready and tasted absolutely delicious. And I fell asleep happy with my chocolates. But dammit! I forgot to set the alarm and so I woke up late. I got dressed in a hurry, rushed into my car, drove here like crazy and when I finally thought, that this day might have, mind you might have, possibly been better than last year, reality decided to pull a fast one on me. And lo and behold! My pants were ruined, covered in chocolate bits. I didn't even realize I had sat on them, until after I got out from my car. Can you believe that, Hikigaya? Well can you?" "Um, I can get that. It was an honest mistake, sensei. I am sure lots of people sit on stuff, everyday." "…You are mocking me, aren't you." "Of course not! I am not an idiot, sensei. Look on the bright side. At least, the flowers I have your are in good shape." "…And I am not. Is that what you mean?"

-incredibly believable.

I stopped using the fake names of the accounts. It was easy on the information baggage on my mind. I read them, like it was meant for me. I also believe, I have, indirectly fulfilled, one of Haruno's requests, which she never asked. I don't know for sure, but I think, her cellphone has stopped getting all the emails and texts, because they are now coming to me.

Wonderful is a sarcasm.

Using Komachi in one of these false rumours wasn't. According to this, she knew about my relationship with Shizuka and played cupid to get us together. Hah, as if that would be, remotely believable.

"Onii-chan can be smooth when he wants to be. Everyone knows girls are a sucker for flowers, sensei. " "Well not everyone. I mean, I certainly can't be swayed by a couple of flowers you know." "Ah, but sensei, you are a bit old to be called a girl, right? Tehee~" "Why you stupid brat. You and your brother are just the same. Making fun of me all the time. I am a teacher goddammit!" "You are cute, sensei, not cuter than Komachi. but still cute. So, I will tell you what. You don't punch my onii-chan in the gut for a week and I will tell him that girls these days go for the classics. With some luck, onii-chan will think of roses."

Okay, rumours can sound, strangely accurate. Even on a web page, on a fake story, under a fake account, dammit, I can even hear there voices, in my ears. This is bad. But it soon gets worse. The next one had, Shizuka, washing her car, while humming a tune, with sexy lyrics and I was lurking in the shadows like the creep that I am. In the end, it was too much, and I ran off, and Shizuka, sighed, and returned to washing her car in the summer heat.

"Guess it's just you and me, handsome."

Handsome. It creeps on you doesn't it. One small truth, in a whole bag of lies and you believe the bag contains nothing but truth, because of one, and only one, truth. Yes, Shizuka has a car. I think, she washes it herself as well, because she doesn't trust those automatic car washes. And yes, because, she is lonely and because, guys do it all the time, refer to their respective rides, as 'girl', well, Shizuka, does that too. Only, she calls, her car, handsome. But, that doesn't mean I was there and she was putting up a show for me. No, that didn't happen.

The next one, again on, Shizuka one me. This one took one step further. It predicted the future. This rumour is about the time I graduate and come clean with my feelings with, sensei. These, all looked like an excuse, nowhere near the vileness of the previous set of character destroying rumours. These were harmless. But it was wrong the same. Needless to say, I am still in my third year and it takes a while to graduate. but according to this rumour, I was graduating tomorrow.

"Huh. You became taller than me. When did that happen, Hikigaya?" "Last summer, I think. Also, I was only a little shorter than you, sensei. Moreover, you wore heels." "Sheesh! Someone's sensitive. Size doesn't matter to me, Hikigaya." "…I think you mean height, sensei."

Wow, okay. Okay next one. Ah, yes, a filthy one on sex to get me back in the mood to hate the person behind spreading this rumours. Yes, thank you. I mean, no, not thank you. You are evil, troll on the internet. Then there was of one of me stripping my shirt in the home economics room, because, Yuigahama, put a spoon in a microwave, and it short circuited, and she thought, it was a good idea, to throw, water in the mix, but, I jumped in and got a wet shirt. This led to me stripping in front of others like Ebina, Tobe, Yui, Yukino, Shizuka. Gonna, skip this one as well. This was getting gross. There were a lot of these mini, unfinished thoughts. It was clear the troll, was losing interest and half assing the rest of the stuff.

The one on Orimoto got to me though. It was set in our middle school days. "Listening to us girls while pretending to be asleep is really creepy, you know." "I don't know what you are talking about, Orimoto." "You know, you should try snoring sometimes." "I don't follow." "You should snore when you are pretending to be asleep. Then it would look more realistic, don't you think." "No, it would draw unwanted attention on me." "Ahha! Gotcha, Hachiman."

I don't know but Orimoto still gets a reactions. It's dreadfully childish of me. Then there was one on Isshiki and me. It was gym class and second years and third years, take those together apparently. I didn't know that, but I go to the same school. Funny how that works. Anyway, this one had, Isshiki, trying her shoelaces, while having her ass, covered in those short, gym shorts, resting on my shoulders.

Then one one Hayama, where he gets told he was defeated, by a call from Haruno. I checked that one out, for sure. What, I didn't know, is that, it might have been one of the reasons, which might have led to our confrontation. But that depended on the chance that he knew about these rumours and were affected by them. So, a lot unsure.

I don't think I will feel sorry for Hayama, even in a false rumour, meant to ruin his image, where he is getting a verbal thrashing from Haruno.

"Hayato-kun, you disappointed me. But no matter. What's done is done. Things have been said, feelings confessed. No kiss yet, mind you, but knowing those two, I wouldn't hold my breath. It took them what? Almost a year and half to get here. The way they are going right now, I bet they won't even think about kissing until they are out of school. Kind of pathetic if you ask me. Too much mushy for my taste though. Yuck! But I guess some could call it cute. Oh! I can already imagine it: Yukino-chan, the school valedictorian, sharing her first kiss with her lovely boyfriend, on the stage, for everyone to see. So romantic! Don't you think, Hayato-kun?" "…They have already kissed, Haruno-san." "You don't say. I bet you caught them in the act, didn't you. Tongues down the other's throat, both of them fooling around, alone in the clubroom, getting handsy with each other, Yukino-chan moaning his name." "Is there a point to this call, Haruno-san? I'm afraid it's getting late." "A gentleman to the end, aren't you, Hayato-kun. Oh how pathetic. But then again, I wouldn't expect anything different from the likes of you. Tell me, I'm curious. Did you at least congratulate the happy couple or did you hide in the bushes and watched them make out."

Okay, that was cruel and if Hayama read this, I kinda feel like he would want to punch me in the face, like he did, today. I doubt he can figure out the lies from the truth. Yes, if this happened, I can believe, Haruno might give him a call, with more or less the exact same sentiment . But, no, Yukino and I definitely, didn't kiss and again, no, we are not graduating it. Can rumours, predict the future? Well, until you call, global warming a rumour, I think we are safe. Not from the, oh, never mind, won't get into that.

Another on Hayama, this one with Yukinoshita. Okay, let's dive in. This one, was about Yukino breaking of her engagement and running off with me. Oh, no, she couldn't run, low stamina. But still, the two of them were through.

"I expect my parents to take unkindly to the news, Hayama-kun. Nee-san has chosen to be by my side when I break the news to both our families. I would appreciate you not making matters worse for the both of us." "I promise to limit all my comments to your cooking. Only good things, I assure you." "Then, I would make a note of adding three more table spoons of powdered chilli in your curry, Hayama-kun. It would only prove to enhance your taste buds, I assure you,"

Ah, yeah, I can see, Yukinoshita doing that. But again, she would never have the courage to stand up to her parents and break up an engagement. Well, at least, I don't think so, with the current way she behaves. But again, people will believe this rumour, because the interactions are made to sound believable. It might very well be a quote if one of them ever write an autobiography.

Moving on. Ah, next one, had him having sex with Saki while imagining it was Shizuka. Okay, interesting choice. Perhaps, taking into account that I lack the well crafted riajuu traits to cheat on a partner. I admire the honesty in keeping me dishonest. Having a physical affair with two women at the same time is a bit too much. But mentally, I can be a two-timing bastard, no problem. The internet troll, knows me so well.

What's next. Choosing Maxx Coffee over a date with Isshiki. Definitely not a rumour. Well, technically it is. Isshiki never asked me on a date. If people actually pays attention to me for once, you will found out, that she rejects me all the time just for the heck of it. But, I am saying, coffee over dates. Sorry, need to make it perfectly clear. I would rather have Maxx Coffee, then go on a date. There, matter cleared for the future.

Next one. All the ladies I know, in a room answering questions about sex, sent by an anonymous person in service club computer. Yeah, that, happened. It was called the near apocalypse of 2018. Yeah, it was a day like no other and humanity went extinct. Of course, of course.

Next. Komachi is ill. I made curry because I am a loving sister. Again, can't call this a rumour. It's too much on the side of true. It's like saying, there's a rumour going on that air is invisible. Well, you can't know for sure, I mean have you seen it. Ingenious.

Next. Zaimokuza filming an amateur movie with me as the villain and Miura as the heroine. Of course. The three of us won Oscars. The movies was a super duper hit. Better, than Lord of the Rings. Won twice the amount of Oscars.

Next. Sagami and me, caught in a rain, seeking shelter in a love hotel. Yes, because, she doesn't hate my guts. She secretively loves me. You know, what, what would make these even better, even more believable. Me and Sagami committing couples suicide by jumping of the roof of the school building. Yes, and we will have Hayama film it, because, he deserves to be happy in the end.

Then the next one had me and Ebina re enacting a scene from a BL novel, because of course, sick people, sick minds. Give the fujoshi a bad idea and watch her burn down the entire world. Yes, the troll, wants to take over the world.

I have lost all respect of him as an adversary. This couldn't be the same person.

The next one was about, Haruno dying in my arms, bleeding out, red blood on her clothes, . Again, she is safe. Moving on, next. And ah, yes, the next one, had Haruno fully, recovered and wearing a sexy red dress, because, that's not traumatizing at all. What is trauma? It's a state of mind. Yes, I am losing my mind a bit. It's been a long day.

I can't believe, Hayama and I fought over these. I can't believe it. I destroyed the service club, destroyed my bond with Yukinoshita, went out on a date with Miura, gave her the wrong idea. Built bridges with Sagami, yet remained unsure of her role in my downfall, got stabbed, by Isshiki, then covered for her, then here I am now, at my home, on my bed unable to sleep, because it's damn too much and I am rushing to jump to a conclusion and I have not looked at all the variables.

But now, I don't want too. It's over. The service club is gone, Hayama's clique is gone too. In a sense that's balance.

But, I need to sleep and for that I need answers.

I turn over, reach for my phone and send an email to the troll responsible from this entire mess.

He calls himself 'Chrome.'

 **'Why did you do all this?'** I typed, and sent.

Haruno later informed me that this 'Chrome' can't be reached, he never replies. It's a one way conversation. Thus I never tried, shooting a text.

The reply came a second late.

 **"Because, I love Humans."**

* * *

A/N: The 100th Chapter this project of mine finally deserved, not the horrible ones I had previously written. Thank you everyone for making this journey worthwhile!

* * *

-/-/-


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